The streets are filled with the fragrance of seven-mile blossoms.

Baili Qingyan leaned against the pillar. “No, Master, I’m not fond of this scent.”

“Baili Senior Brother, then you’re missing out!” Shi Zhentian grinned obsequiously, his face scrunched up in a sycophantic smile. “Master’s flatulence must be the most fragrant in the world!”

Ding Desheng had already experienced the scent released by the Digestive Pill before, so he didn’t suspect anything this time. He grasped his elder’s jade sash with both hands, loosened it, and his face paled as he exclaimed, “Come closer—it’s about to happen!”

He was almost holding his breath, and the crowd around watched intently. Shi Zhentian and the other bootlickers pressed their faces in, cheeks pulled forward, anticipation gleaming in their eyes.

Shi Zhentian opened his mouth wide. “Master, please hurry up! We can’t wait to inhale the immortal fragrance!”

A thunderous explosion resounded. What followed was a sight too dreadful to behold. Like a firecracker plunged into cow dung, the eruption sent the group behind reeling, wishing they could simply die.

Ding Desheng turned back, beaming. “Isn’t it fragrant?”

Silence reigned; not a single word was spoken. Baili Qingyan, holding a book, stood at a distance, stunned, the book slipping from his hands with a flutter.

The stench was overpowering, reminiscent of livestock. One of the flatterers suddenly clutched the wall and began to vomit, retching until nothing but bile remained.

Those disciples who had gotten closest now sported faces smeared with filth, as if covered in fermenting mash, with bits of undigested vegetable leaves dangling.

Shi Zhentian, mouth still agape, had a whole mess inside, with a bean sprout stuck between his teeth—thanks to Ding Desheng’s dinner the night before.

Ding Desheng realized what had happened, his face darkening with rage as he prepared to lash out. Suddenly, his expression shifted—he’d consumed an entire bottle of Digestive Pills!

Just then, Ding Xuanming entered at the door. “Elder Brother, what’s that smell? Why is it so pungent?”

“Oh heavens, don’t mention it—wait, it’s coming again!” Ding Desheng raised his rear, and a massive blast shot towards the doorway like a cannonball. Ding Xuanming, mouth open to speak, was hit squarely by the projectile.

Poor Ding Xuanming—his white robes now stained a dirty yellow, with splatters in his nose, ears, and mouth, making anyone nauseous at the sight.

Ding Xuanming, a stickler for cleanliness, wiped his face and saw his hand coated in sticky muck.

“My god!” Ding Xuanming wailed, eyes rolling back as he collapsed to the floor.

“Brother, brother!” Ding Desheng, seeing him collapse, hurried over, but his aftershocks continued. The unluckiest was Shi Zhentian, who’d circled Ding Desheng only for Ding Desheng to turn and point his rear at him again.

Splattering sounds filled the air.

Shi Zhentian was now a “mud man,” sprayed relentlessly as he waved his hands in surrender. “Master, enough, enough, I can’t take any more, I can’t eat any more!”

His eyes glued shut by the filth, he tried to clear his face only to be hit by another wave, this time even runnier. The once tidy and beautiful room was now suffused with an unbearable stench. Baili Qingyan couldn’t stand it and immediately stepped outside.

Meanwhile, Xie Wujie and the others were enjoying tea at the teahouse. Xie Wujie declared, “Come, let’s toast with tea instead of wine—celebrating our successful development of the Digestive Pill!”

“I toast you, Brother Xie! Making pills is far better than selling noodles on the street. Since joining you, my back doesn’t ache, my legs aren’t sore, my step is lively, and my spirit’s high!” Feilong praised enthusiastically.

Xie Wujie smacked his lips, about to drink, when his nose twitched. “What’s that smell?”

At that moment, the Danxia Sect teahouse was abuzz. The first floor was in an uproar. “Oh heavens, is that a monster?!”

“My god, that’s the Grand Elder—what happened?!”

Xie Wujie sensed trouble and looked toward the stairs, seeing the Grand Elder and Second Elder storming over angrily, trailed by a “mud man.”

Of course, the mud man was Shi Zhentian. The Grand Elder, spotting Xie Wujie, his eyes bulged with indignation. Remembering what had just happened, he was mortified and furious, pointing at Xie Wujie and shouting, “Xie Wujie, you did this to me on purpose!”

“Grand Elder, what do you mean?” Xie Wujie replied, wrinkling his brows as the stench assaulted him—it was unbearably foul.

Ding Desheng’s rear was bulging; to prevent further eruptions, he’d plugged it with a wooden stopper. Yet the effects of an entire bottle of Digestive Pills were formidable, and he couldn’t expel them entirely with spiritual energy.

“What did you feed me?!” Ding Desheng asked, gritting his teeth.

At this moment, Dongmen Qianyun stepped forward, hands on her hips. “Grand Elder, you’re mistaken. Brother Xie hadn’t even taken your money; it was your disciple Shi Zhentian who took the Digestive Pills from him. It’s a medicinal pill—what’s wrong, is it poison?”

“Poison? It’s more vicious than poison!” Shi Zhentian wailed, wiping his face as he sobbed.

Ding Desheng’s face was grim. “Your concoction caused me such disgrace—you’ve truly infuriated me!”

A crowd was gathering.

“That’s odd—how many Digestive Pills did you take?” Dongmen Qianyun asked.

Shi Zhentian yelled hoarsely, “A whole bottle! An entire bottle!”

“My god, that’s a recipe for disaster,” Xie Wujie said. “Grand Elder is a master alchemist—surely he knows it’s a medicinal pill. How could he treat it like roasted beans and take so many?”

“Didn’t your pill release a fragrant scent? This was aimed at me!” Ding Desheng retorted.

Ding Xuanming, recalling his own humiliation, cursed aloud, “Xie Wujie, you’ve insulted the elders! According to the Danxia Sect rules, this warrants the severest punishment—guards!”

A large crowd quickly gathered, surrounding Xie Wujie and his five companions.

Xie Wujie thought to himself that things looked bad; with so many people, there was no way to talk his way out.

Just then, a distant voice echoed, “Grand Elder, you’re arresting someone without concrete evidence, and it’s my disciple you’re targeting—isn’t that excessive?”

A dazzling light appeared outside, descending to reveal Dongmen Yong.

No one expected Dongmen Yong to show up here. In fact, Dongmen Yong had spies at the Grand Elder’s side, and when Ding Desheng went to trouble Xie Wujie, Dongmen Yong had already set out.

“Dongmen, stay out of this—this brat…” Ding Desheng began.

Dongmen Yong immediately cut him off. “Elder Ding, the Digestive Pill is a low-grade medicine. You know it’s meant to open the meridians and expel accumulated waste from the intestines, correct?”

“Yes.”

“And you should know its effect is a hundred times that of croton bean. An ordinary person would purge for seven days and nights just from smelling it, dying of dehydration. Even we cultivators can only take one at most—any more is unbearable, isn’t that so?”

“Yes, I know.”

“Then that settles it. My disciple gave you a bottle, knowing you were unwell, and asked you to take it slowly. You took too much and harmed your health, yet you blame my disciple?”

“But your disciple’s previous pills released… released a fragrance!” Ding Desheng protested.

Dongmen Yong turned to Xie Wujie. “Is this true?”

Xie Wujie’s eyes darted. “That was a prototype. To test the Digestive Pill, we always experiment on ourselves first. Pills that aren’t up to standard never reach the sect…”

Many in the crowd suddenly understood.

“So the so-called fragrant flatulence pill was actually a failed batch—but it really is fragrant, and the stench isn’t as strong!”

“Don’t speak, the Grand Elder and the Sect Master are always at odds. Let’s just watch; right and wrong will be sorted out.”

Ding Desheng’s face had turned ashen. He glared fiercely at Xie Wujie.