A Mortal’s Immortal Gourd
Chapter 65: Good and Evil Cannot Coexist

There were surprisingly many people in the black market today, probably all gathered because of that single pill.  

At this moment, in a hall of Hongfu Hall, more than twenty people were seated, waiting for the auction to begin.  

Ergouzi quietly scanned the crowd using the Qi Observation Technique and found that all the visitors were below the sixth level of Qi Refinement.  

There was no exceptionally strong expert present, which put his mind at ease.  

He guessed that perhaps, like the Peiyuan Gutben Pill, after reaching a certain cultivation level, the benefits of this kind of pill would be limited.  

Having cultivated for several years, this was the first time he had seen so many cultivators gathered in one place. It seemed Anchan County was indeed home to many hidden talents.  

After waiting for a while, the old shopkeeper of Hongfu Hall walked out with a smile.  

“Thank you all for waiting…”  

The old shopkeeper seemed fond of telling stories and recounted the origin of this pill to everyone again, which caused the hall to burst into laughter.  

Only Ergouzi felt like he had been dragged out and whipped again.  

“The county magistrate is benevolent…”  

“The county magistrate cares for the people like his own children…”  

“The county magistrate…”  

Sitting among the crowd, Ergouzi heard the cultivators around him lavish praise. Hearing the same set of clichés repeated over and over, he found it utterly stale.  

He even found it puzzling that everyone wore masks and no one could see each other’s faces.  

Does flattering from a distance like this actually work?  

Or was it just a personal hobby that felt uncomfortable not doing it?  

“Hmph! Nothing but a bunch of maggots!”  

Suddenly, a cold voice rang out in the otherwise harmonious atmosphere, sounding extremely harsh.  

Everyone turned toward the voice and saw a man wearing a large painted face mask.  

“What are you looking at? Sooner or later, I’ll wipe out all you maggots.”  

The man with the painted face didn’t care about the attention; instead, he spat out this threat.  

“May I ask which Daoist you are to be so arrogant?”  

The Hongfu Hall shopkeeper asked coldly.  

He was not weak in cultivation, appearing only in his fifties, already at the fifth level of Qi Refinement, a well-known figure in the entire black market.  

It was common knowledge that Hongfu Hall was backed by the county magistrate. For someone to openly slander the magistrate was shocking.  

“My name never changes; I sit with the same surname. I am Qingfengzi of the Dao Xuan Sect. If you have the ability, come to the Dao Xuan Sect and find me.”  

It turned out that the man with the painted face mask was an evil cult member. No wonder he dared to provoke the authorities so boldly.  

After all, they were all lawbreakers; having many lice was no trouble, and many debts did not itch.  

“Good!”  

“I remember now, so you are a hero of the Dao Xuan Sect.”  

The Hongfu Hall shopkeeper did not get angry but smiled, apparently already keeping a record of this grudge.  

“You are not even a cultivator of the Dao Xuan Sect. Why try to frame them?”  

At this moment, a man wearing a ghost-faced mask stood up and scolded.  

“How do you know I’m not a cultivator of the Dao Xuan Sect? Are you one?”  

The painted-face man remained arrogant.  

The ghost-faced man hesitated, then slowly took off his mask, revealing a lean face.  

“That’s right, I am the real Qingfengzi of the Dao Xuan Sect. Please do not misunderstand.”  

“Although the Dao Xuan Sect is not accepted by the authorities, we only want to cultivate quietly and have never intended to rebel.”  

After speaking, Qingfengzi put his mask back on and left the auction hall.  

He would rather expose his identity and give up the pill than take the blame.  

This ancient sect had always struggled to survive in the cracks. If they angered the authorities completely, they could easily be exterminated.  

After Qingfengzi left, the man with the painted face mask also exited the auction.  

The brief disturbance ended, and the auction continued.  

The Hongfu Hall shopkeeper no longer wasted words and directly took out a jade box, opening it in front of everyone.  

Inside was a pure white, crystal-clear pill. Using spiritual perception, one could see the rich spiritual energy contained within the pill.  

“This is a first-grade Peiyuan Pill. Our shop does not accept ordinary silver. For everyone’s convenience in bidding, prices will be unified in Peiyuan Gutben Pills.”  

“After the auction is successful, payment can be made using Peiyuan Gutben Pills or other equivalent spiritual items.”  

“The starting price is 1,000 Peiyuan Gutben Pills.”  

“I bid 2,000.”  

“2,500.”  

“2,800.”  

Right at the start, the price was pushed up to 2,800 Peiyuan Gutben Pills.  

However, Ergouzi had heard from Sima Yi before that the Peiyuan Pill required at least thirty thousand taels of silver to purchase.  

Converted to Peiyuan Gutben Pills, the price should be at least 3,000 pills.  

“3,000 Peiyuan Gutben Pills.”  

So Ergouzi straightforwardly gave a real price, hoping no one would inflate it too much.  

“3,100.”  

“3,200!”  

“3,300!”  

Yet, cultivators on-site kept bidding higher.  

Ergouzi had already decided this was his pill and had to continue matching the price.  

In the end, Ergouzi bought this pill, which originally belonged to him, at the price of 4,000 Peiyuan Gutben Pills.  

After conversion, he paid 380 taels of refined silver.  

Everyone present looked at Ergouzi curiously, wondering who he was to have such wealth and to spend 380 taels of refined silver all at once.  

Afterwards, Hongfu Hall took the opportunity to auction some items related to cultivators.  

Ergouzi spent another 200 taels of refined silver to buy a piece of mysterious iron.  

This material could be used by cultivators to forge magical weapons or flying swords, and it was expensive.  

However, the piece was small and could not be made into a magical weapon.  

Ergouzi planned to integrate this material into his heavy sword to enhance its durability.  

“Allow me to introduce the last item.”  

The Hongfu Hall shopkeeper said as he took out a large wooden box and opened the lid. Inside was the corpse of a Locust King.  

“This is a Locust King that has turned into a locust demon, measuring one foot five inches in length. It took several experts to kill it.”  

“The locust demon’s body contains rich spiritual energy. Consuming it directly can increase cultivation or be used for pill refining.”  

“The pair of hind legs can be made into weapons…”  

The shopkeeper listed all the benefits of the locust demon, making a strong sales pitch.  

In short, every part of this locust demon, including its intestines, was extremely valuable.  

Sure enough, just a locust corpse caused a bidding frenzy, with the price nearly matching that of the pill.  

Ergouzi finally spent 330 taels of refined silver to buy this extremely precious Locust King’s corpse.  

He planned to take it home to feed his geese.  

This round of auction made Ergouzi the biggest winner, purchasing the two most valuable items.  

At the same time, he was the biggest loser, having spent tens of thousands of taels of silver just to buy back his own pill.  

After buying the pill, Ergouzi wasted no time and left the county alone.  

He first returned to Shekou Mountain. The two giant geese that had just advanced had recovered well after resting.  

They had lost many feathers during their advancement, and many patches remained bald.  

He fed them a few Peiyuan Gutben Pills and then headed out to continue exterminating locusts…  

Outside the county, on a desolate mountain, a man in black clothing used the Wind Riding Technique to run swiftly.  

When he reached the mountain, he stopped and looked around, seeming unable to find his way forward.  

Suddenly, spiritual energy fluctuated behind him, and a sharp sword silently stabbed toward him.  

Luckily, the man in black was experienced in combat. Without looking, he leapt forward, narrowly avoiding the sneak attack.  

He then counterattacked with a sword strike.  

“Ding!”  

At this moment, a figure appeared behind him.  

It was Qingfengzi of the Dao Xuan Sect, who had hurriedly left the auction.  

“Daoist friend, what is your intention? Stirring trouble between the Dao Xuan Sect and the authorities everywhere.”  

“Hehehe…”  

The man in black chuckled.  

“Your Dao Xuan Sect hides too deeply. If I didn’t act this way, how would you have appeared voluntarily?”  

“Hmph!”  

“Even if you are looking for someone, there’s no need for such underhanded tactics.”  

Qingfengzi was clearly dissatisfied with the man in black’s words.  

“I truly have business with you.”  

The man in black continued to explain.  

“No interest!”  

Qingfengzi turned to leave, but the man blocked his path again.  

“Don’t rush to leave. I just want to ask you to help refine a pill furnace.”  

“Don’t you have pill furnaces? So many Blood Marrow Pills should have been made by you.”  

Qingfengzi stared coldly at the man in black and said,  

“Our Dao Xuan Sect inherits the ancient righteous path and has always been at odds with your evil cult.”  

“We would never assist in such heinous acts as refining pills using living people.”  

After speaking, Qingfengzi turned to leave.  

The man in black blocked him again.  

“Why hurry to leave? Everything can be traded; conditions can be discussed.”  

“Good and evil cannot coexist. For evil deeds that harm heaven and man, there are no conditions to discuss.”  

Qingfengzi’s attitude was extremely firm. He already held his sword forward. If the man continued to pester him, a fierce fight would break out.  

“Dao Xuan Secret Treasury!”  

Seeing this, the man in black no longer blocked him but uttered these four words.  

Qingfengzi’s expression changed drastically. He turned to stare at the man.  

“Do you really have information about the Dao Xuan Secret Treasury?”  

“Hehehe, I said everything is negotiable.”  

The man chuckled leisurely.  

“Tell me, do you have information on the Dao Xuan Secret Treasury?”  

Killing intent appeared in Qingfengzi’s eyes as he spoke.  

“Why be so anxious?”  

“I don’t have it. Even if you kill me, you won’t get any information.”  

“Since you don’t have it, there’s no need to talk.”  

Qingfengzi’s expression returned to normal. Feeling mocked, he snorted coldly and was about to turn and leave.  

“I don’t have it, but our leader does.”  

“You don’t think you can exchange such important information just by refining a pill furnace, do you?”  

The man in black continued leisurely. He seemed to have grasped the Dao Xuan Sect’s weakness confidently.  

“Of course, I know that. Just a pill furnace is a small matter.”  

At this moment, Qingfengzi’s expression softened. He had agreed.  

“What kind of pill furnace do you want? After I return, I can deliver it in a month.”  

“Good! Straightforward…”  

Immediately, the man in black described the style, size, and other requirements of the pill furnace.  

Qingfengzi carefully noted the details and prepared to refine it once back…  

Ergouzi’s team had already entered Heishan Town. After reorganization, the team was easier to manage and much stronger in combat.  

They had swept through the area, killing countless locusts but suffered only three casualties.  

Besides the extermination team’s increased combat effectiveness after reorganization, the two giant white geese, now spirit beasts, had also greatly improved their strength.  

Every day, Ergouzi took out a large number of locusts containing spiritual energy from his gourd to feed the geese.  

After absorbing enough spiritual energy, the geese recovered quickly, their strength and speed at least doubled.  

Flying in the sky with Ergouzi was now effortless for them.  

Newly grown on the tips of their wings were two hard, sharp feathers, as tough and sharp as steel blades, capable of cutting through tree trunks as thick as a bowl’s mouth.  

They often swiped their wings in the air, cutting many mutated locusts in half.  

The two giant geese had become the main fighting force of the extermination team, killing at least half of the locusts in every battle.  

Seeing the strength of the advanced geese, Ergouzi returned overnight to Shekou Mountain and fed the Locust King’s corpse he had purchased to them.  

Sure enough, the two geese successfully broke through again and became spirit beasts.  

With two spirit beasts guarding Shekou Mountain, he felt much more at ease.  

However, in the following battles, they swept through three villages, but no Locust King was found.  

Perhaps such Locust Kings were rare, and it was just luck to have encountered two consecutively before.  

Without a Locust King, their team’s current combat power was enough to handle ordinary swarms.  

They used Shekou Mountain as the center and swept outward in circles, achieving great results.  

The daily harvested locusts were used as food, with a small surplus.  

During this time, they also encountered other extermination teams.  

Most had a hard time, harvesting fewer locusts than needed for food. Without enough food, they could not recruit more people.  

With insufficient manpower, they could not fight the locust swarms. Temporary recruits panicked and fled when casualties occurred.  

Therefore, weak teams only became weaker.  

However, the strong would inevitably stand out.  

Besides their team, a few others had also achieved great results.  

These teams came from the Sima family, Ding Family Village, and the county magistrate’s trusted men.  

Ergouzi had heard from Sima Yi about these teams before.  

Perhaps the wise think alike or acted selfishly, but the Ding Family Village team only operated near Ding Family Village.  

The Sima family’s team mainly operated near their clan.  

The county magistrate’s team was the strongest and largest, with two to three thousand people, guarding the largest territory.  

Knowing about other teams’ actions, Ergouzi felt more at ease staying around Sanchazi Town.  

Since the crops in the fields had already been eaten, whether the locusts were exterminated seemed less important to the villagers.  

Being closer to home, Ergouzi often rode the giant white goose back to Shekou Mountain to water the plants and check on the family.  

Finally, he had time to take out the expensive Peiyuan Pill and consume it.  

The pill was about the size of a fingertip, white and sparkling like a pearl.  

He remembered when buying it, the pill had only one pill vein. After being stored in the gourd for a while, it now showed two pill veins.  

Had it changed from first-grade to second-grade?  

He was not an expert in pills, so he could only guess. In any case, the increased spiritual energy was a good sign.  

After sitting in meditation to adjust his breath, he took the pill.  

The pill was smooth as it went down his throat, continuously releasing spiritual energy in his abdomen.  

He hurried to circulate his cultivation to refine it…  

After a day and night, Ergouzi slowly opened his eyes.  

At this moment, his cultivation had reached the fifth level of Qi Refinement.