Cheat God
31. Earth Pill Sect

The red horizon cracked with golden light as Liu Chen arrived at the edge of the Shadowwind Rift.

His boots landed softly upon the edge of a sunken basin surrounded by jagged cliffs and swirling dust. The moment he took in the scene before him, his gaze narrowed.

At least a hundred cultivators were gathered—some standing in groups, some were alone, each radiating an aura of caution and greed. Some wore the long robes of clans and sects. Others were draped in loose cloaks, clearly those who does not want to reveal their identity.

Liu Chen’s expression remained calm, but inwardly, his brows twitched.

“So many?” he muttered to himself. “Tch… This won’t be simple.”

He paused briefly and reached up to his chest.

With one smooth motion, he removed the long black travel cloak that had concealed his identity throughout the wilderness. As the fabric slipped away, the intricate golden embroidery of the Liu Clan’s inner robe was revealed.

The moment the cloak fell, the nearby cultivators stirred.

“Liu Clan…”

“Another member?”

“No… wait. That one…”

Whispers sparked across the crowd like wind catching dry leaves.

Many recognized the pattern. Some had only heard the stories. But one thing was clear—this wasn’t an ordinary young master.

Liu Chen stepped forward without haste, his steps unhurried, his gaze cool. As he walked past the crowd, the sea of cultivators instinctively parted.

At the center of the basin stood three groups

Nine cultivators dressed in white-gold robes surrounded a sigil-carved formation array—his Liu Clan’s elite squad, dispatched for this mission. Opposite them were two similarly impressive teams—one bearing the imperial colors of the Great Ling Dynasty, the other the sigil-marked black-red robes of the Great Chu Dynasty. Both were superpowers from the outer dominions.

And at the center, kneeling on the ground with their hands sealed by formation chains, were two wound cultivatorsn in worn, dark alchemist robes. Their hair was disheveled, but their eyes still flickered with stubborn pride.

Liu Chen’s eyes locked on them.

“Those two… they’re the cause?”

As he stepped closer, one of the Liu Clan, Liu xuan broke formation and approached him with a small bow. “Young Master Liu.”

“Brother Xuan,” Liu Chen greeted with a nod.

“You came quickly,” Liu Xuan said. “It’s good. The situation may grow more complicated with every passing moment.”

Liu Chen’s gaze swept the surroundings again. “Explain.”

Liu Xuan spoke in a low tone, masking their voices from the nearby dynasties. “The two captured men belong to the Earth Pill Sect. You may have heard of it—an alchemy sect that once ruled a dark era in this region. Notorious for their trade in forbidden pills and demonic concoctions. They were rumored to be a branch sect of the God Slayer Hall.”

Liu Chen’s eyes narrowed slightly. “God Slayer Hall… that shadow still lingers?”

Liu Xuan nodded grimly. “Though the Earth Pill Sect was destroyed when the Land of Bliss was purified, no one ever found the exact location of their sect hall. It was protected by a living formation—one powered by refined pill cores, concealed beneath earth and time.”

“These two alchemists,” Liu Xuan gestured to the chained men, “somehow come in Land of bliss and gain a hall master token. Likely a remnant passed down through a surviving side branch. They came to this rift and used it. But after thousands of years, the formation had grown unstable. It didn’t open—but it revealed itself. A shimmer in the desert winds. And… the scent of pill fire.”

Liu Chen’s gaze sharpened.

“The scent of pill fire would’ve drawn everyone within a thousand miles.”

“Exactly. Rogue cultivators were the first to arrive. But they couldn’t force the formation open. Then our scouts detected it. The Great Ling and Great Chu dynasties followed within a day. We captured these two before they could escape.”

Liu Chen said nothing for a moment.

He turned toward the two kneeling men.

Despite their rough appearance, there was still an unmistakable aura of expertise around them. The scent of cauldrons. The faint burn marks along their fingers. The dusting of medicinal ash clinging to their sleeves. They were indeed alchemists—true ones.

“You say they had a token?” Liu Chen asked.

“Yes. One of the three Hall master tokens said to be linked to the Earth Pill Sect’s inheritance vault. They tried to use it. But the formation was incomplete. Now it flickers in and out of visibility… and the scent of high-grade pills drifts with every pulse.”

Liu Chen crossed his arms.

The Earth Pill Sect… a notorious shadow organization. Masters of dark pill arts, black market trades, soul poison refinements. Their destruction had brought great joy to the righteous factions, but rumors had always persisted—that they served something darker.

And if they were linked to the God Slayer Hall, then…

His gaze lifted toward the ancient rift. The sand swirled unnaturally at its center, forming spirals that faded and reformed every few minutes. Occasionally, a golden shimmer would flash within it—brief, like the blink of an ancient eye.

No formation key had opened the way yet.

But it was close.

As Liu Chen studied it, the other forces stirred. A from the Great Chu Dynasty, dressed in crimson battle robes with a long halberd strapped to his back, gave him a sharp glance.

“So,” the man said loudly, “another heir of the Liu Clan joins us. Then we can start our plan to break through the formation."