48. The Universe Reforging Elixir

“Everyone, please listen to me! Someone is framing me! Just this morning, the Fire-tailed Chickens escaped in a flock and stole a large amount of elixirs from my Alchemy Hall!” Ding Desheng was so furious his anger nearly boiled over, but since he was surrounded by female disciples and elders, he forced himself to suppress his rage and explained the situation in detail.

With Ding Desheng’s explanation, the tense atmosphere eased a little.

“I knew it,” one female disciple said, “Elder Ding doesn’t even have a wife; he has no interest in women. How could he possibly steal our undergarments?”

Another chimed in, “But I’ve heard there are many men who seem upright but are secretly perverts. Maybe Elder Ding appears aloof, but in private he’s filthy. Look at his first disciple, Bai Li Qingyan—so striking, the most handsome man in the capital. If he were a girl, he’d be the most beautiful in the world. Elder Ding keeps such a gorgeous disciple by his side—isn’t that suspicious?”

“Hush, don’t let the Elder hear you,” someone whispered.

Rumors began to circulate. Bai Li Qingyan, standing off to the side, glanced at Ding Desheng with a shudder and instinctively took two steps back.

Ding Desheng nearly spat blood. “Qingyan, surely you don’t believe your master could—”

“No, not at all, Master, you’ve misunderstood,” Bai Li Qingyan replied awkwardly.

Ding Desheng said, “If you don’t believe me, ask the Sect Leader. The Fire-tailed Chickens I raised were startled by something this morning and scattered. No matter how I called, they wouldn’t return. So, I am innocent in this matter!”

With his repeated explanations, many people began to believe him.

But just at that moment, a loud crowing echoed from the sky.

Everyone looked up to see dozens of Fire-tailed Chickens flying in formation overhead, heading straight for them.

A terrible premonition gripped Ding Desheng.

With a great clatter, a shower of undergarments rained down from above, all landing on Ding Desheng. His tall, imposing figure was buried beneath a mountain of garments.

Silence. A deathly silence.

Everyone stared at Ding Desheng, their eyes filled with disbelief, shock, and disappointment.

With a rustle, Ding Desheng slowly raised his head; his eyes were bloodshot with fury, his beard trembling.

“Damn it! Who is behind this? Who’s trying to ruin me?”

As an undergarment landed on his head, the female disciples erupted in angry shouts.

“What kind of elder is this? He actually trained those chickens to steal our clothes? Even our underclothes?”

“Shameless! Depraved old lecher! Disgusting!”

“Heavens! So Elder Ding actually... Oh, I’m mortified! Old man, if you like me just say so—no need for these tricks. I’ll come find you tonight...”

Bai Li Qingyan retreated further, a look of aversion in his eyes.

Meanwhile, the Fire-tailed Chickens ran straight to their coop and began devouring the spiritual herbs and fruits that Ding Desheng had painstakingly prepared for them. Raising these chickens had cost him dearly—he spent a fortune on them each day, but persisted out of sheer fondness for the birds.

Yet today, the Fire-tailed Chickens had betrayed him utterly.

“Wretched creatures! After framing me, you still have the nerve to come home and eat?” Ding Desheng bellowed, charging madly toward the chicken coop.

Cackles and squawks erupted as chaos broke out within the coop.

Outside, the female disciples gasped, covering their mouths.

“He’s even shameless with his own chickens! How depraved can he get?”

“No wonder the Fire-tailed Chicken eggs always have that odd taste—it all makes sense now...”

But the chickens, having feasted on countless elixirs, were now as agile as eels.

With a great fluttering, they took flight, leaving Ding Desheng covered in feathers and unable to catch a single one.

He spat out a mouthful of feathers and said, “Ladies, it’s obvious someone has set me up...”

Silence fell once more, and everyone looked at him as if he were a fool.

No one bothered to argue further. Bai Li Qingyan spoke up, “Sisters, aunts, let’s just take our clothes back...”

“No, I don’t want them! They’re all ruined, tainted by that old man! I wondered why my undergarments kept disappearing—now the truth is out.”

“Me too. So Elder Ding was the culprit all along! Just goes to show, you can’t judge a book by its cover!”

The female disciples departed one by one, leaving Ding Desheng standing there, red-faced and covered in feathers, his fists clenched as he cried to the heavens, “Who is tormenting me like this?”

Meanwhile, after the chickens had eaten their fill, they returned to the woods near Xie Wuji’s cabin. Xie Wuji, having anticipated their return, had already brought some feed from the mundane world.

The Fire-tailed Chickens ate contentedly. Xie Wuji squatted beside them and muttered, “I hope I didn’t cause too much trouble. Ding Desheng will return the clothes, and that’ll be that.”

He had no idea that this offhand remark had consigned Elder Ding to utter ruin. The stern, dignified reputation Ding Desheng had built over the years was utterly shattered; everywhere he went, disciples would whisper and sneer, sometimes even spitting in contempt.

Xie Wuji soon discovered that the Fire-tailed Chickens now obeyed his every command. At a single word, they would do as he wished.

“Fly in a circle!” Xie Wuji ordered.

Immediately, the chickens spread their wings and circled around him.

Delighted, Xie Wuji still understood that these were the Great Elder’s birds. He needed to keep his friendship with them secret; if anyone found out, the consequences would be dire.

After all, the Great Elder was notoriously petty, and Ding Desheng had always targeted him. Now, it would be even worse.

Just then, the Fire-tailed Chicken King began clucking loudly. Perplexed, Xie Wuji asked, “What’s wrong, old fellow? Still hungry?”

Suddenly, the Chicken King doubled over in discomfort, raising its tail as if to expel something.

Xie Wuji’s scalp prickled, but to his astonishment, the bird passed a small box—a metal box, which Xie Wuji recognized as the one he’d seen placed on the highest shelf of the elixir rack.

When the box hit the ground, it popped open under its own weight, revealing a book inside.

Thankfully, the book was clean. Xie Wuji picked it up and scolded, “You’d better stop eating random things, or you’ll choke yourself one day!”

The Chicken King seemed to understand, bowing its head and clucking in response.

Opening the book, Xie Wuji discovered it was a royal compendium, recording various magical treasures held in the palace neighboring the Danxia Sect.

It seemed there were several cultivators in the palace, and their artifacts were many and powerful. As Xie Wuji read, one item caught his eye: the Reforged Meridian Pill.

This pill could reorganize a person’s meridians and reshape their body, with immediate effect—a truly miraculous medicine. Its grade was listed as Heavenly—an extremely rare and precious elixir, on par with a treasure.

Then Xie Wuji thought of Dongmen Qianyun, the little girl who suffered so much from her congenital meridian disorder. If she had this pill, wouldn’t it restore her heart meridian? Her channels would flow smoothly, and she could finally cultivate. Her condition had always been her greatest sorrow.

With this thought, Xie Wuji immediately closed the book, found the map left by Old Man Qin in his cabin, and said, “Chicken King, come here. Look, the palace is here, and our Danxia Sect is here. Can you take me there by flight?”