In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 819 Life Extension Pill

"How rare are the herbs that can prolong life? Even though Liao Shenming ventured deep into the vast mountains and grasslands several times, he still failed to obtain them!"

"Faced with his life drawing to a close, Liao Shenming became increasingly frantic, even going so far as to squander his wealth accumulated over a hundred years, all in an attempt to find a way to prolong his life."

"Enticed by a large sum of money, a sorcerer found Liao Shenming and offered him an extremely evil method of prolonging life: using the blood of three young children as the main ingredient and a few precious medicinal herbs as supplements, one can refine a longevity pill! One longevity pill can extend one's life by half a year!"

Using the blood of young children to refine elixirs?

Chen Dao, Chen Cheng, and Yang Zheng all changed color. Just from Li Qiao's description, they could feel the evil nature of this longevity pill.

"That sorcerer truly deserves to die!"

Yang Zheng gritted his teeth and said that even though he knew that Liao Shenming and that sorcerer were people from hundreds of years ago, he still couldn't hide his disgust.

Ignoring Yang Zheng's words, Li Qiao continued, "When Liao Shenming, whose lifespan was nearing its end, learned of this method, he was overjoyed, like a drowning person grasping at a straw. He quickly and secretly seized several young children, and then purchased a large amount of rare medicinal materials, which he handed over to the alchemist to refine the longevity pill!"

"That alchemist did not disappoint Liao Shenming, successfully refining several longevity pills, allowing Liao Shenming's lifespan to be extended!"

"This made Liao Shenming ecstatic, as if he saw the hope of his own immortality. On the one hand, he bestowed a lot of money upon the alchemist, and on the other hand, he continued to secretly capture children to refine a large number of longevity pills to increase his own lifespan!"

"However, secrets never stay hidden forever. Although Liao Shenming's capture of children was extremely secretive, some word of it eventually leaked out!"

"Upon learning that Liao Shenming had used the blood of young children to refine the Longevity Pill, the world was shaken. Righteous people in the martial arts world regarded Liao Shenming as a demon and everyone wanted to kill him!"

The imperial court, of course, could not stand idly by and allow Liao Shenming to act in this way. Therefore, not long after, Liao Shenming and the sorcerer were arrested and swiftly beheaded!

"Well done!"

Upon hearing that Liao Shenming had been beheaded, Yang Zheng couldn't help but shout out, "Liao Shenming, a martial artist who used the blood of young children to refine longevity pills, is utterly wicked and deserves to die!"

"Although Liao Shenming is dead, the method of prolonging life must not have been lost, right?"

Chen Dao asked thoughtfully, "Although Liao Shenming's method of prolonging life is evil, it is a truly effective way to achieve longevity!"

Chen Dao absolutely refused to believe that those powerful figures in the imperial court could resist the temptation of longevity!

"Not bad!"

Li Qiao nodded slightly: "Although Liao Shenming is dead, the method of refining the longevity pill was not lost. Instead, it fell into the hands of the royal family and the Lu family at that time!"

"The Lu family?"

Chen Dao looked puzzled.

Seemingly aware of Chen Dao's doubts, Li Qiao explained, "Lu Mingyu, the Minister of Justice who presided over the Liao Shenming case at the time, happened to be a member of the Lu family. From Liao Shenming's arrest and interrogation to his final execution, Lu Mingyu was in charge of everything. As a result, the Lu family also obtained the method for refining the Longevity Pill from Liao Shenming!"

That's it!

Chen Dao suddenly realized that the Minister of Justice who was in charge of Liao Shenming's case was a member of the Lu family. Therefore, the Lu family would definitely be able to take advantage of their proximity and be the first to extract the method of refining the Longevity Pill from Liao Shenming and the alchemist.

The Lu family, having obtained this refining method, certainly wouldn't leave it unused; instead, they would utilize it to extend the lifespan of their family members...

No wonder Li Qiao's expression was so strange when the topic of missing children came up today. It turns out he had already connected Liao Shenming's matter with the Lu family!

"In fact, the royal family and the Lu family at that time were far more than just the ones who knew how to make the Longevity Pill!"

Li Qiao said with a heavy expression, "Hundreds of years have passed, and the method of refining the Longevity Pill has long been spread among the major families. All the powerful families in the Nine Provinces know about the existence of the Longevity Pill and how to refine it. The disappearance of children is not limited to Youzhou. There are also a large number of missing children in other provinces. It's just that the families in other provinces are more cautious and not as blatant as the Lu family!"

"These parasites from powerful families deserve to die!"

Yang Zheng was furious. He knew that the powerful families of Kyushu were bad, but he didn't know they could be this bad!

Using the blood of countless young children to refine longevity pills, do these aristocratic families have not a shred of conscience as human beings?

According to Li Qiao, a single longevity pill requires the blood of at least three children to be refined, which means...

Extending life by six months would require at least the lives of three children!

Just thinking about it sends chills down my spine.

"Yes! These powerful families deserve to die!"

Li Qiao's gaze was deep and unfathomable: "But who can punish them? The emperor? Ha!"

A hint of disdain flashed in Li Qiao's eyes: "Even the emperor himself uses this method to prolong his life, so how can he have the face to punish those aristocratic families who use this method?"

Li Qiao was not referring to the current emperor, who is in his prime and has not yet reached the point where he needs to use longevity pills.

He was referring to the former emperor of the Xia Kingdom and the Xia family!

As far as Li Qiao knew, within the Xia family, there were just as many old, immortal people who used longevity pills to prolong their lives and linger on indefinitely as those from other aristocratic families.

"Since even the emperor can't punish them, then I, Yang, will!"

A resolute glint flashed in Yang Zheng's eyes: "Once I have established my rule over the entire land, I will ensure that none of these heinous families are spared!"

Previously, Yang Zheng felt somewhat guilty about the massacre of a large number of powerful families, but now, after learning about their actions, he felt no guilt whatsoever!

Even killing the entire family of a family that used such evil alchemy to prolong their lives would not quell Yang Zheng's anger.

Li Qiao looked at Yang Zheng alone and did not doubt Yang Zheng's determination, but... how easy is it to wipe out all the aristocratic families in Kyushu?

Putting aside everything else, Yang Zheng couldn't do anything to the Lu family right in front of him. Even Li Qiao, who was a first-rank martial artist with superb martial arts skills, didn't dare to say that he could shake the Lu family!

after all……

The Lu family has a history spanning thousands of years and possesses profound family heritage. In addition, they hold the method for refining longevity pills, so it is unknown how many old monsters are hidden within their clan.

"Go to sleep, we still have a long journey ahead tomorrow!"

Li Qiao said something, then closed his eyes as if he had fallen asleep.

Seeing this, Yang Zheng, Chen Dao, and Chen Cheng also lay down on the bed and stopped talking.

only……

The three of them were deeply troubled.

The three men clenched their fists at the thought of all the evil deeds committed by the Lu family, wishing they could wipe them out!

Yang Zheng even wished he could immediately return to Liangzhou and lead a large army to wipe out the Lu family!

But a sliver of reason remained in his mind, telling him he couldn't act so rashly, otherwise...

Yang's army is likely to suffer huge losses!