Who let him join the Sword Sect?!

After Qiu Jidan was frightened half to death by Zhang Ze due to the Cold City affair, he became utterly absorbed in reading.

It's unclear whether it was the Sword Hall's old sword cultivator being an innate teaching saint, or if Qiu Jidan's humanity hadn't entirely eroded, or if the Illusion Realm truly can change a person.

After reading all the chicken soup stored in the Sword Hall, he partially converted to goodness.

But only partially.

Thus, for a long time afterward, Qiu Jidan remained in a state of extreme confliction, feeling as if two small figures were fighting in his mind.

Kind-hearted Hero Chou advised himself, based on the Sword Sect's compiled "Evil Cultivator Handling Guide," that someone like him, when caught, generally wouldn't survive more than three days.

Therefore, he ought to surrender himself and then meet his end.

But when he aimed the knife at his own chest, he reverted to his original self.

Evil Young Master Qiu told himself that his deeds were for the great cause of Hundred Demons Sect, for the future of the Human Race; an insignificant sacrifice was nothing, and he shouldn't die; he should continue to infiltrate and act when the opportunity arises.

Tossing and turning, sleepless at night, Qiu Jidan once sought guidance from other teachings, hoping for enlightenment.

But after scouring the texts of the other five sects, he found no answers.

The handling methods from the Celestial Sect, Medicine King Valley, Beast Taming Sect, and Dragon Tiger Mountain were similar to the Sword Sect: once clarified, they ought to kill and bury as needed.

Though the Buddhist Sect spoke of enlightenment, Qiu Jidan sadly realized it couldn't convince him.

He felt merit couldn't offset wrongdoing, unable to relinquish his obsession.

Every night when he closed his eyes, he saw those innocents he killed, and when he reopened them, there were only four words in his mind.

I deserve to die.

Yet when he raised the knife to his chest, four other words sprang to mind.

I need to live.

If Zhang Ze were here, he would probably find Qiu Jidan a bed at Xiaolingzi Mental Hospital and prescribe some medication for schizophrenia.

As for the Sword Sect, during these few months at the Sword Hall, Qiu Jidan hadn't committed any wrongdoing, merely reading and writing daily, akin to being imprisoned, so they temporarily let things be.

The Sword Sect had their own little schemes, wishing to use Young Master Qiu to locate the Hundred Demons Sect's main helm; although these attempts had never succeeded, they still tried whenever possible.

But these matters, neither the kind-hearted Hero Chou nor the evil Young Master Qiu knew.

They both believed their infiltration was proceeding well.

Looking at the intelligence on the Divine Pill Gang in his hand, Qiu Jidan was engaged in a struggle between the celestial and the human, his expression alternated between ferocious and benevolent, occasionally muttering to himself softly, picking up and putting down the knife in his hand.

This intelligence originated from a casual move he made long ago, the time having passed so long he almost forgot.

It was days before he joined the Sword Hall when he met an Outer Sect disciple of the Sword Sect at an inn on Yangguan Road, who was carrying a Stone Pill.

The disciple was weak, pitiful, and helpless; his sister was disabled, his younger sister timid, life quite unhappy.

He told Qiu Jidan a story about Stone Pills and a forest.

He said that in that forest, each tree concealed a Stone Pill.

Since Qiu Jidan didn't know this disciple's name was Zhang Ze, he believed it.

And having believed it, Qiu Jidan, being rather busy at the time, delegated the matter to a few trusted subordinates.

Afterward, during the chaos of the Cyan Thorn Demon Path when the Blood Lion Ancestor was beheaded, and Lin Feng took over the Cyan Thorn Demon Path, those subordinates completely lost contact.

Unexpectedly, today one of them suddenly made contact, saying he had some news.

This subordinate said he found clues to that forest, further north of Cyan Thorn.

There lies Crown Prince River, forming the border between Cyan Thorn and the Northern Territory. In Wangyang City by the river, there's a gang called the Divine Pill Gang, holding clues to that forest...

Thinking of that weak, pitiful, and helpless disciple, Qiu Jidan's muddled mind suddenly gained some clarity.

He thought of a method.

He wouldn't die immediately but would die slowly.

Do good deeds first, then die.

Starting today, perform one good deed a day. Three years later, after thwarting Hundred Demons Sect's plot in Cyan Thorn, he would atone with death.

With this understanding, Hero Chou's persona temporarily suppressed Young Master Qiu completely.

He activated his Heart Method, reversed circulation two and a half times, shattered two Qi Seas and three Spiritual Acupoints, utterly ruining his future; from now on, his cultivation would never advance.

After wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, he closed his eyes and viewed internally, confirming he had only three years to live, then he sighed with relief.

Whether due to damage from his Demon Skill or letting go of obsession, his tuberculosis seemed to have healed.

Taking advantage of his current clarity, Hero Chou sat back at the table, starting to plan the betrayal of Hundred Demons Sect.

Due to restrictions in his knowledge sea, many words he couldn't express, and some thoughts concerning core ideas couldn't be dwelled on.

He wasn't afraid of his head exploding, just feared these secrets might vanish forever.

Hero Chou contemplated deeply for a long while before coming up with a somewhat immature idea; he looked towards the rows of texts borrowed from the Sword Hall on the bookshelf.

Calculating with his fingers, he thought if he could devise a way to bypass the restrictions with code and record those secrets at a rate of a few words a day, three years should suffice.

Having decided, Hero Chou looked again at the piece of paper in his hand.

"This matter should be dealt with quickly; that subordinate might not be dead yet. If the intelligence gets to Lin Feng or the Special Envoy named Nameless, it'll be a big problem."

"This matter must not be left unattended."

Currently avoiding core secrets and direct suicidal actions, Young Master Qiu's persona was suppressed by Hero Chou.

Though he might still have occasional illness outbreaks, it's already much better than before.

Hero Chou turned the piece of paper into ashes; he had made a decision.

That is, using his identity as a loose cultivator from Sword Hall to uncover the Divine Pill Gang's secrets, then deliver them to the Sword Sect, ensuring they don't fall into Hundred Demons Sect's hands.

Meanwhile, find a way to eliminate the current Cyan Thorn's greatest Demon Path head apart from himself.

That man claimed to be a heroic loose cultivator but was truly a Demon Path leader—Lin Feng!

He must be eliminated!

Hero Chou had reported anonymously before, but inexplicably, all reports vanished without a trace.

He was quite perplexed.

"Hmph, tomorrow I'll go confront Lin Feng, get rid of this demon."

...

Thousand Mechanism Pavilion.

Lin Feng, while drinking with Zhang Ze, suddenly shuddered.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Ze asked.

"Nothing, probably some demon path thinking of me," Lin Feng shook his head, indicating it's not a big deal.

Recently, he'd been fighting with joy, so an unrepentant demon path considering his head was normal.

Lin Feng handed a Jade Scroll to Zhang Ze.

"The Divine Pill Gang elder brother asked me to investigate has some leads; inside are some details about them."

"Also, that Divine Pill Gang indeed has issues. Eldest brother still remembers the Demon Path Special Envoy named Qiu Jidan, right?" Lin Feng asked.

"I remember, what happened with him again?" Zhang Ze replied.

Zhang Ze had an impression of Qiu Jidan—they met for the first time when he fabricated a tale, frightened him once more in Cold City, and even called him 'mom.'

Qiu Jidan was now being closely monitored by the Sword Sect like a caged bird, and naturally, that paper couldn't escape the Sword Sect's scrutiny.

Lin Feng informed Zhang Ze about Qiu Jidan gaining intelligence.

"He'll likely push this matter to Nameless, or have my subordinates assist; after all, eldest brother, you're Nameless now. Alas, what's wrong, eldest brother." Lin Feng, observing Zhang Ze's strange expression, inquired again.

"I'm fine, just feel my life is a huge circle," Zhang Ze sighed, poured another cup of wine for Lin Feng.

Incredibly, the story he originally fabricated might be true, and connected to the Void Stone Pill found recently in Ivory Mountain Village, as well as the so-called Divine Pill Gang.

Zhang Ze decided to lie less in the future; his darn mouth felt like it was blessed.

The long inactive system also suddenly revived and stirred at this moment.

[Thousand Mechanism Pavilion side quest, Ancient Wood Gives Birth to Pill refreshed]

[Accompany Qiu Jidan to Crown Prince River to investigate the truth about the Divine Pill Gang]