Calculated Deception

"Rise!"

Su Muchen uttered a low cry, forming a hand seal. Instantly, roaring flames erupted around the Purple Cauldron.

Su Muchen released his divine sense, carefully guiding the alchemic fire, continuously roasting the spiritual herbs.

As time flowed, the herbs slowly melted into a liquid, constantly releasing wisps of black vapor.

These were impurities within the herbs, which were now being slowly eliminated by the intense heat of the alchemic fire.

Soon, the black vapor dissipated, and the previously colorless liquid slowly transformed into a dark black hue. Dense soul force rose and churned within the cauldron.

"Condense!"

Su Muchen formed another hand seal, and the liquid within the Purple Cauldron instantly converged, solidifying into pills, each black with a faint wisp of vapor.

Despite it being his first time brewing pills, with the help of the system, Su Muchen successfully completed the process.

However, during the final stages of pill condensation, Su Muchen secretly integrated the Soul-devouring Worm, disguised as a spiritual herb, into the pills.

The Soul-devouring Worm was an extremely vicious insect, specifically used by the Holy Sect to control enemies.

Those afflicted by the Soul-devouring Worm, without consuming a specialized antidote, would suffer the agony of soul devouring three times each day. If they did not take the antidote within seven days, their souls would scatter and vanish!

Su Muchen had happened to bring a few Soul-devouring Worms with him to the lower realm, and now they had finally found a use.

"Complete!"

Instantly, the pills flew out, numbering a full dozen!

Seeing the pills about to escape, Su Muchen's figure flickered, grabbing each pill one by one and quickly depositing them into a jade bottle beside him.

Only after completing this did Su Muchen breathe a sigh of relief, putting away the Purple Cauldron. After a brief period of meditation, he crushed the talisman in his hand. In reality, the Lord of the Abyss had known he had successfully made the pills long ago, but had resisted appearing. The moment Su Muchen crushed the talisman, the Lord of the Abyss instantly materialized before him.

"How is it?"

Although the Lord of the Abyss was asking, the excited look on his face betrayed his composure.

"I have fulfilled my mission!" Su Muchen handed the jade bottle to the Lord of the Abyss.

The Lord of the Abyss accepted it with both hands, opening the bottle. A wave of dense soul force immediately rushed out. Just by inhaling the aroma, the Lord of the Abyss felt a faint sign of condensation within his soul.

"Indeed, it is the Nine Revolutions Soul Condensing Pill!"

The Lord of the Abyss was overjoyed. The way he looked at Su Muchen was intense, yet a hint of hesitation lingered in his eyes. It would be a pity to kill such a talent, but keeping him around would also be a source of trouble! At this moment, the Lord of the Abyss was actually reluctant to kill Su Muchen!

Although the Lord of the Abyss wasn't skilled in alchemy, judging from the quality of the finished Nine Revolutions Soul Condensing Pill, this Su Muchen was undoubtedly a master alchemist!

"The Nine Revolutions Soul Condensing Pill is best taken as soon as possible after it is created. If too much time passes, the soul force will dissipate, and the effect will be greatly diminished."

Su Muchen said casually, and he was telling the truth. All pills related to the soul require special nurturing methods, otherwise the soul force will slowly dissipate over time after completion.

"Very well. You will remain here for now. After I condense my soul, I will certainly grant you countless benefits! However, I am not the only one cultivating here. I will still ensure your safety!"

After speaking, the Lord of the Abyss waved his hand, and instantly a semi-transparent light barrier enveloped the entire room.

"Thank you, Senior!" Su Muchen said on the surface, but inwardly he sneered. This guy was simply afraid that he would run away. However, Su Muchen didn't mind. He had no intention of leaving anyway; his plan was only half-unfolded.

"Not bad! These are my rewards to you!"

Seeing Su Muchen so cooperative, the Lord of the Abyss flicked his wrist, and a dozen Immortal-grade spirit stones and various spiritual herbs appeared before Su Muchen.

Su Muchen looked astonished. This Lord of the Abyss was truly wealthy! Not to mention anything else, just these dozen Immortal-grade spirit stones could fetch a sky-high price.

"How can this junior be worthy of such rewards from Senior!"

"It doesn't matter. As long as you work for me faithfully, you won't lack benefits!"

The Lord of the Abyss was very satisfied with Su Muchen's performance. After giving a few instructions, he left, seemingly eager to condense his soul and break through the seal in one fell swoop.

Su Muchen watched the direction the Lord of the Abyss disappeared, revealing a cold smile.

"In a moment, I'll let you experience the power of the Soul-devouring Worm!"

A strange glint flashed in Su Muchen's eyes. Once the Soul-devouring Worm entered a cultivator's body, it would directly latch onto the cultivator's nascent soul.

The stronger the nascent soul, the stronger the Soul-devouring Worm's ability to absorb it. Even top experts who were afflicted by the Soul-devouring Worm could only seek out the one who had introduced it to remove it.

This Lord of the Abyss had lived for countless millennia, so the power of his soul was unimaginable. He was the perfect target for the worm!

"Could other ancient powerhouses be treated the same way?"

Suddenly, a bold idea surfaced in Su Muchen's mind. If this could be accomplished, it would definitely be a huge boost to his future!

"Hahaha! I'm finally free!"

Suddenly, the Lord of the Abyss's wild laughter echoed from afar, followed by an extremely powerful pressure.

The cultivators who were exploring the ancient city, after feeling this pressure, had a drastic change in expression. Some of the more timid ones immediately turned around and fled the ancient city.

"Haha, I'm out!"

The Lord of the Abyss appeared before Su Muchen. The Lord of the Abyss's form was no longer so illusory.

"Congratulations, Senior!" Su Muchen said with a smile, but his expression was not so respectful.

The Lord of the Abyss narrowed his eyes. He could naturally feel the change in Su Muchen. Did this kid think he could take advantage of the situation because he was useful to his plan? The Lord of the Abyss decided to teach this kid a lesson to make him understand who was in charge!

The Lord of the Abyss was no longer planning to kill Su Muchen, after all, a living Su Muchen was much more valuable than a dead one! However, before the Lord of the Abyss could act, he suddenly screamed.

"Ah!"

The Lord of the Abyss suddenly felt a tearing pain in his soul, as if something was gnawing at it.

"Tsk, tsk! How does it feel?"

Su Muchen had expected this to happen. After the Soul-devouring Worm entered the soul, the first thing it would do was devour a portion of the soul to replenish itself. Moreover, the Soul-devouring Worm had suffered some of the alchemic fire's heat during the process of being integrated into the pill, becoming weak and in desperate need of fresh and powerful soul to replenish its strength.

This Lord of the Abyss had been imprisoned here for tens of thousands of years, yet his soul had not dissipated, showing how powerful it was.

Furthermore, he had just consumed the Nine Revolutions Soul Condensing Pill, and his soul force was at its peak. To the Soul-devouring Worm, this was like an elixir!

"You... What did you do to me!"

At this moment, the Lord of the Abyss realized that it must have been this guy who had tampered with something!

The Lord of the Abyss regretted it greatly. He had underestimated this guy. He had been trapped for thousands of years and was too eager to get out, resulting in him falling for his trick without any precautions.

"My request is simple. Become my subordinate!"

Su Muchen looked at the Lord of the Abyss calmly. He didn't believe that this guy could endure it.

"Ah... When I was at my peak, you weren't even born yet. I... I'm going to kill you!"

Worthy of being an old monster who had lived for tens of thousands of years, even in this soul-devouring pain, he could still muster some strength to attack Su Muchen.

"Since that's the case, then you can properly experience this soul-devouring pain."

Su Muchen sneered, directly taking out a random teleportation talisman and quickly crushing it. Su Muchen's figure instantly became illusory.

"After you've thought it over, you can come and find me. I believe you can find me!"

Boom!

The Lord of the Abyss's attack arrived at this moment, finally gathering his strength for an attack, but it directly passed through Su Muchen's illusory figure.

"Ah! I will search the heavens and the earth and kill you!"

The Lord of the Abyss's painful roar echoed throughout the entire ancient city, terrifying countless treasure hunters and causing their hearts to break.