Red Talon Piercing The Darkness

Setting aside the other treasure, Hong Zhao picked up the gold jade ring and examined it. All else seemed to fall from his mind as his finger traced the small gold lining. Looking closer at the gold, he noticed that it was in the form of a snake, which seemed to eat its tail. Hong Zhao put everything else within his storage ring before sending a wisp of qi into the beautiful looking ring. Inserting his consciousness, Hong Zhao's eyes lit up the moment they were able to see what lay within.

In front of him sat five mountains of pills, two piles of spirit fruit, a store of weaponry and in the center of it all, there was a jade vial. Though everything else seemed to call out to him, his eyes focused on that one simple jade vial. Taking it from the ring, he opened the vial and smelled the contents, yet no scent escaped. He dropped the pill into his hand and looked closely at it. At first, it seemed to be a completely clear pill, yet when the outside light hit the pill, it seemed to glow many different colors. Raising the pill to the light, Hong Zhao examined it closely before looking at Ren Cai. "Have you ever seen a pill like this before?" Though Ren Cai only shook her head.

Before he could put the pill back in the vial, a hand slapped the pill from his own and launched it into his mouth. Gagging, Hong Zhao tried to spit it out, yet it was already liquid falling down his throat. He coughed as he looked at where the hand was just moments before, yet no one was there. He cursed in annoyance as he knew it was Lan. No one else was able to sneak up on him. It was almost as if she moved a curtain for only a moment before putting it back into place, disappearing once more.

Hong Zhao stopped coughing, yet he could feel a heat forming within his stomach. Such heat became uncomfortable and he sat in the lotus position and began to cultivate. Beads of sweat formed on his brow as he painstakingly refined the qi that Lan had forced down his throat. It was almost impossible to refine at a rate that could normalize the energy which was coursing through his veins. On the outside, his clothing had become drenched in sweat. Ren Cai stared at him in horror as there was nothing she could do. Either he refined all of the energy, or he would most likely explode.

The sun set, then rose and set once more. On the third day, Hong Zhao opened his eyes once more. His breathing was ragged and foul. His body was covered in not only sweat, but filth which had been purged from his meridians. As he got up to stretch, he could feel an overwhelming amount of power which seemed to seep from him. Though he was within his qi blocking uniform, it seemed that even this couldn't contain the power which he had gained. Taking a calming breath, he looked up at Ren Cai who had not taken her eyes off of him since the beginning. "Seventh star disciple rank." He said shakily.

"If you keep gaining power in such a swift manner, how are we going to sneak into the capital?" She couldn't help but ask. "If anything, you are brazenly telling the city lord that he is not the only figure within this continent that can move so swiftly up the ranks."

"I hear you," Hong Zhao said. "But it wasn't me who decided to take this pill." He looked up at the ceiling in annoyance. "Could you at least tell me what you forced down my throat, you witch?" He cursed at nothing.

"Ouch, witch, really?" A haughty voice appeared from nowhere and Hong Zhao's eyes followed it to the owner. Lan sat on the bed next to Ren Cai. Her hair was in its usual two perfect buns. Her satiny red dress showed every curve, almost as if it were just a second skin. "Here I thought I was helping you." She said with a pout.

"What was the pill you forced into my mouth?" Hong Zhao got right to the point.

"That was a cloud soaring pill. Also known as a miracle pill." Lan smiled her usual all knowing smirk. "Each pill has differing results. It seems that this one allowed you to raise yourself two ranks, and also cleansed your meridians." She sighed in relief. "It's a good thing for that last one. If you continue absorbing qi through those devouring qi claws, you really will need to start using qi cleansing pills."

"Qi cleansing pills?" His eyebrow rose. He had heard of only three different types of pills now, yet Lan was able to bring even more clarity.

"You just got a whole mountain of them. Use one after every time you cultivate using those claws. If you do that, it will cleanse your meridians just as easily as this rainbow pill did."

He was going to ask Lan the next time he saw her what the other types of pills were, yet he didn't even need to ask for one type.

"Don't ask me about the other types of pills you received yet." Lan said flatly. "Don't take any others aside from the translucent pills you received. Those would be the qi cleansing pills. I will let you know what the other pills are used for when you have strength enough to use them."

"Though I don't approve of you showing up and making these decisions on the fly without even letting me know why, I do appreciate your advice after." He smiled a half smile towards Lan. "Maybe next time tell me what the pill does before forcing it down my throat?"

"But where's the fun in that?" Lan asked as she got to her feet. "Anyway, happy hunting!" She waved once before shimmering out of view right in front of him.

'So it's some sort of spatial technique that she uses.' He thought as the last shimmer left the small room. 'I wonder where she goes when she isn't sneaking around spying on me.'