The mountain wind roared with ferocious Qi Blood Power, stirring up a foul breeze in the dense forest.

The Toxic Pill Master was originally fleeing desperately, but suddenly felt a killing intent approaching from behind, his whole body bristling with chill.

At the brink of life and death, he instinctively swung a counter-lance move.

A tremendous counter-shock force hit, and the Toxic Pill Master felt a suffocating tightness in his chest.

His already severely wounded body suffered another grave injury, and if not for his swift reaction, he would have already perished.

Seeing clearly who was behind him, the Toxic Pill Master's eyes flared with murderous intent: "How dare an ant in the Pulse Condensation Realm pursue me?"

Behind him, a young man in black robes gently stroked his saber's hilt with his right hand while casually swinging his left hand.

The Toxic Pill Master knew that the terrifying Qi Blood fluctuation just now originated from what appeared to be an ordinary punch.

Qin An's gaze was icy, but his eyes swept past the fake pill on the Toxic Pill Master's shoulder.

At this moment, the fake pill had already turned translucent, with a thumb-sized pill inside.

With his Level Nine Pill Master profession, Qin An could tell at a glance that the thumb-sized pill inside was the real fake pill.

He knew the Toxic Pill Master intended to flee. After a brief thought, he quietly followed behind.

The Qi Blood Power contained in the fake pill was comparable to a hundred demon crystals. Even losing part of it, it was equivalent to several dozen.

If he could get hold of it, it would significantly shorten his path to forging the Supreme True Elixir.

Qin An hadn't made a move all this way; it wasn't until he confirmed the Toxic Pill Master was a spent force and couldn't draw power from the fake pill that he suddenly struck.

Unfortunately, it wasn't successful.

But that didn't matter. If it doesn't work once, he would try several times.

Qin An didn't answer, raising his left fist and burning more demon crystals within.

A moment ago, he burned five demon crystals, and this time, Qin An burned another five.

The raging Qi Blood, fueled by five demon crystals igniting, surged entirely into his left fist, launching a strike at the Toxic Pill Master.

The Toxic Pill Master's pupils shrank suddenly, feeling the terrifying attack coming. His heart skipped a beat.

He could sense it was the power of a Secret Technique.

At that critical moment, the Toxic Pill Master hefted his spear, meeting Qin An's fist head-on.

Qin An's figure abruptly retreated, and the turbulence in his Qi Blood caused him some minor injuries.

"The Outer Elixir Realm is indeed extraordinary; even heavily injured, it has such majesty, unlike the Pulse Condensation Realm," Qin An spoke with a terrifying calmness.

The Toxic Pill Master's eyes flared with fury: "You are courting death!"

Were it not for his injuries dragging him down, he could obliterate such an ant with a snap of his fingers.

The Toxic Pill Master raised his spear, preparing to pursue again.

But Qin An suddenly retreated, putting a safe distance between them.

The Toxic Pill Master instantly understood: "You want to slow me down!"

The spot where Qin An retreated was precisely at Cangnan Mountain.

If he chased Qin An, by the time Zhou Yuanfeng and the others arrived, he would be doomed.

Weighing his options, the Toxic Pill Master had to grit his teeth and turn to flee down the mountain.

Unable to fight, he could only run.

He had already memorized Qin An's appearance.

Once he recovered, he would first kill that little bastard!

But before he even took a few steps, the sound of air being cleaved rose behind him again.

Qin An was indifferent to the consumption of demon crystals, burning five more.

The Toxic Pill Master felt the terrifying Qi Blood Power approaching, a cold light flashed in his eyes as he swept his spear horizontally.

"Boom!"

Another rumble echoed across the mountain path, shattering the surrounding trees to dust with the residual force.

The Toxic Pill Master took a closer look. Qin An had already distanced himself safely again.

"What exactly do you want?"

"Give me the fake pill," Qin An said blandly.

"Delusional fool!" The Toxic Pill Master sneered: "Can a lowlife like you covet the fake pill?"

Qin An was silent, casting a significant glance toward the direction of Cangnan Mountain.

The Toxic Pill Master's heart trembled.

If this dragged on, Zhou Yuanfeng and his men might catch up.

"If they arrive..." The Toxic Pill Master suppressed his anger: "You won't get the fake pill either. Why not let me go? If I find the time, I'll personally craft one for you, how about it?"

Qin An shook his head: "No."

The Toxic Pill Master's eyes widened: "Why? Would you do something with no benefit?"

Qin An's eyes flashed with cold light: "Your gaze tells me you must die today, and I must have the fake pill."

That resentful glare seemed to want to dismember him in a thousand pieces.

Since fleeing from Ding County, anyone with such a look could only die.

The Toxic Pill Master cursed: "Madman!"

He turned to continue his escape, unwilling to waste words with Qin An.

But before he could run a few steps, the sound of wind rose again behind him, accompanied by a terrifying surge of Qi Blood Power.

The Toxic Pill Master felt alerted, swept his spear back, and clashed with Qin An's fist.

"Boom!"

After the rumble sounded, a wisp of blood trickled from the corner of Qin An's mouth.

The Toxic Pill Master smirked: "Even if you keep distance, so what? Although I'm wounded, I'm ultimately an Outer Pill. With the accumulation of injuries, can you, a mere Condensation, still overturn anything?"

After several exchanges, the Toxic Pill Master's mind steadied.

Qin An's Secret Technique couldn't harm him.

Moreover, the Secret Technique couldn't be used indefinitely; he could endure it, but Qin An might not.

Qin An's eyes showed fatigue, quickly caught by the Toxic Pill Master.

The Toxic Pill Master sneered, turned, and continued his escape.

He no longer considered Qin An a threat.

If Qin An resorted to his Secret Technique again, he would simply deflect it.

Sure enough, before the Toxic Pill Master could take a few steps, the sound of wind rose behind him again.

The Toxic Pill Master swung his spear horizontally once more, colliding with Qin An's fist: "I've already told you, this kind of attack makes me... wait, no!"

Before finishing his words, the Toxic Pill Master noticed something amiss.

This time, the fist had doubled in Qi Blood Power!

Upon closer inspection, the Toxic Pill Master saw Qin An's smirk of mockery and amusement at the corner of his mouth.

The fatigue in Qin An's eyes was long gone, and his injuries had already healed.

"A recuperative shield method?" The Toxic Pill Master's eyes widened: "You were pretending! With such means, why act?"

Qin An didn't answer, unleashing the full force of ten demon crystals.

This was the peak of the Blood-Burning Eight-Forged Dragon Demon Hand; if it couldn't kill the Toxic Pill Master, Qin An would retreat.

The terrifying power of ten demon crystals bursting simultaneously snapped the spear in half.

Four-colored True Qi surged like a dragon at sea, crashing heavily onto the Toxic Pill Master's chest.

The Toxic Pill Master, already gravely injured, was sent flying, spraying blood as he smashed through several ancient trees like a broken kite.

"What deep scheming! First feigning weakness with a low-level secret technique, then pretending to be injured and exhausted to lower my guard!"

"Everything was for this one punch!"

"Who exactly is he?"

The Poison Pill Master was overwhelmed by terrifying waves in his heart, seeing the figure in dark clothes approaching like a demon, and his fear kept intensifying.

"Spare me!"

"I can make false pills for you, as many as you want, just spare me!"

The Poison Pill Master finally broke down, struggling to plead for mercy.

Even though he was in the Outer Elixir Realm, at this moment, he was already scared out of his wits.

Between life and death, the realm became mere decoration.

Qin An remained expressionless, and the Cold Star Saber suddenly unsheathed.

A flash of blade light cut through, and the head of the Poison Pill Master fell to the ground, silent forever.

Qin An faced the false pill ahead, swinging the Cold Star Saber once more.

The pill within the false pill was absorbed into Qin An's palm.

After sensing the terrifying Qi Blood power contained within, Qin An's lips curled slightly upward.

Along with the demonic crystals stored within him, he originally had a reserve of fifty pieces.

This time, to slay the Poison Pill Master, he spent twenty demonic crystals.

He had just absorbed ten into his body, leaving only ten demonic crystals remaining.

And this false pill, although it consumed a lot of Qi Blood, surprisingly had the content of ninety demonic crystals.

At this moment, along with the demonic crystals absorbed into his body, he had a total reserve of one hundred and ten demonic crystals.

He took another step towards condensing the Supreme True Elixir.

After Qin An stored the false pill, its outer layer quickly turned into blood and disappeared.

Footsteps echoed from behind.

Qin An turned to see Zhou Yuanfeng and others arriving.

When Zhou Yuanfeng and the others saw the scene before them, their eyes widened in shock.

Even though Zhou Yuanfeng was indifferent by nature, he couldn't hide the amazement in his eyes.

Qin An turned around, calmly cupping his fists: "Greetings, sir."

Zhou Yuanfeng came back to his senses and instinctively asked, "You did this?"

He knew when Qin An pursued alone, he led the group on a frantic chase.

Although his impression of Qin An was ordinary, he did not want anything to happen to Qin An under his command, as he was recommended by two junior brothers.

Unexpectedly, Qin An had slain the Poison Pill Master.

Qin An nodded, "He was heavily injured by the lords, his power greatly diminished, no longer possessing the might of the Outer Elixir Realm. I used all my secret techniques at great cost to kill him."

Zhou Yuanfeng: "..."

He looked at Qin An, noticing his complexion was rosy and his aura stable.

What great cost?

At this moment, Zhou Yuanfeng suddenly felt he might need to reconsider his view of Qin An.

The silver Prefecture General holding dual hooks asked, "Where is the false pill?"

Qin An replied, "I've taken it."

This matter couldn't be hidden.

The false pill in the package carried terrifying Qi Blood power, and no matter how much you tried to cover it, it couldn't be completely concealed.

According to the Evil Extermination Bureau's rules, the false pill was his rightful reward, as he was the one who single-handedly killed the Poison Pill Master.

But when the Poison Pill Master was being worn down, it was the silver Prefecture Generals who struck.

He could take the false pill but only partially.

The silver Prefecture General holding dual hooks squinted slightly, ready to speak when Zhou Yuanfeng unexpectedly interrupted.

"Return to the Evil Extermination Bureau."

The silver Prefecture General raised an eyebrow at Zhou Yuanfeng and, seeing Zhou Yuanfeng's indifferent gaze, suddenly smiled.

"Very well, giving you face."

He didn't speak further.

The other silver Prefecture Generals did the same.

Zhou Yuanfeng said no more and turned to walk down the mountain path.

The other bronze Prefecture Generals exchanged glances; when they looked at Qin An, there was a hint of envy in their eyes.

That false pill was equivalent to nearly a hundred demonic crystals.

The bronze Prefecture Generals only had the power of the Vein Condensation Realm. Obtaining a false pill would be a tremendous help.

But they knew they could only envy.

After all, if it were them, they wouldn't even attempt to chase the Poison Pill Master. If they did, they'd likely just end up dead by his hands.

Qin An's expression remained calm as a still lake, stroking the Cold Star Saber's sheath, following behind Zhou Yuanfeng down the mountain.

...

On the way back to the Evil Extermination Bureau, it was a smooth journey.

The Hunter Conference had concluded, and this disturbance was temporarily put to rest.

As for the situation of future Hunter Conferences, it wasn't something the many Prefecture Generals concerned themselves with.

After returning, it was already very dark.

The sky seemed to be covered with a black cloth, no stars shining.

The many silver Prefecture Generals took their men and left one by one.

However, before leaving, they all gave Qin An a deep look, with an inexplicable meaning in their eyes.

Zhou Yuanfeng called for Yang Qing and Qin An.

He first found a place with Yang Qing to inquire about Qin An's performance during this Hunter Conference before letting Yang Qing leave alone.

Zhou Yuanfeng turned to Qin An, pondering, "Follow me."

With those words, Zhou Yuanfeng turned to walk towards a small courtyard, not dragging his feet at all.

Qin An thought for a moment and stepped forward to follow behind Zhou Yuanfeng.

The two arrived at Zhou Yuanfeng's small courtyard shortly.

The courtyard had a stone table and several stone stools.

After entering, Zhou Yuanfeng went into the house, bringing out a pot of wine and two cups.

He sat on a stone stool, poured wine into both cups, and pushed one towards Qin An along the table.

Qin An picked up the cup, observing the wine, and drank it in one gulp: "Thank you, Mr. Zhou, for helping me out."

Zhou Yuanfeng shook his head: "The colleagues on this mission are all indebted to me and have a close relationship, so they gave me this face."

"Keep the false pill well; there's no need to take it out again."

Qin An nodded, placing the cup back on the table, and asked, "Mr. Zhou, if you asked me to come alone, there must be something else. Please speak directly."

In Cangnan Mountain, the silver Prefecture General holding double hooks clearly wanted to divide the false pill, but Zhou Yuanfeng stopped him.

Now that Zhou Yuanfeng had summoned him, there must be something else.

Zhou Yuanfeng pondered briefly and said, "What if I don't want you to join the Mountain Patrol General? Would you agree?"

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