A warm current spread along the path the pill had taken, instantly restoring life to his body.
"Ahhh... Oooooh..."
The agonizing sensation of being bitten struck, and the assassin couldn't help but let out a wail.
"Damn it, this is painful!"
It was a hundred times more painful than before.
Zi Linling's clear, cold voice rang out, "I forgot to tell you, without the consent of me, Ghost Hand Poison Doctor, even King Yama can't snatch a life from my hands!"
"So, you have two choices now: either surrender, or die in agony, then come back to life and die again, repeating this endlessly, with the pain intensifying!" Su Dan Novel Network
Blood was streaming from the assassin's eyes, making him look incredibly ferocious.
"I... surrender..."
He gritted his teeth and painstakingly transmitted the three words.
"Congratulations, you chose correctly!"
As Zi Linling's voice, laced with a smile, sounded, a pill was sent into the assassin's mouth.
The pill melted, and its medicinal properties rapidly diffused throughout his body.
The sensation of ten thousand ants biting him vanished without a trace.
The assassin let out a heavy sigh of relief, struggled to get up from the ground, and looked at Zi Linling with fear in his eyes, saying, "Number Nine Nine Eight pays respects to the Master!"
Just now, as Zi Linling administered the antidote, she had also conveniently reset his dislocated jaw.
Because of the inhuman torture he had just endured, and because his jaw had been dislocated for too long, his speech was now somewhat slurred.
Zi Linling frowned and asked, "Nine Nine Eight? Is that your code name?"
Number Nine Nine Eight replied, "Yes, Master! There are too many assassins in the Ghost Kill Tower, so they don't have names, only code names!"
Zi Linling was slightly speechless but then thought that this method was actually quite good.
"Tell me! How many assassins are there in the Ghost Kill Tower?"
Number Nine Nine Eight said, "There are a total of one thousand nine hundred and twenty-eight assassins registered in the Ghost Kill Tower. Among them, nine hundred and twenty-eight are Bronze level assassins, ranked at the bottom, with code names from Number One Zero Zero One to Number One Nine Two Eight!"
"There are five hundred Silver level assassins, with code names from Number Five Zero One to Number One Zero Zero Zero. There are three hundred Gold level assassins, with code names from Number Two Zero One to Number Five Zero Zero. There are one hundred and fifty Diamond level assassins, with code names from Number Fifty-One to Number Two Zero Zero. And from Number One to Number Fifty are the code names for Violet Gold level assassins!"
Zi Linling exclaimed in surprise, "Violet Gold level assassins? Why has there never been any news of this in the outside world?"
Number Nine Nine Eight replied, "The Violet Gold level assassins have never made a move. They have all been kept hidden by the Ghost Kill Tower, so people in the outside world are unaware!"
Zi Linling nodded, thinking to herself, "No wonder the Ghost Kill Tower can hold its position as the number one assassin organization. Just the number of assassins alone is enough to send chills down one's spine."
In fact, if this were any other sect, such numbers would not be particularly astonishing. But for an assassin organization, it was entirely different.
After all, assassins were skilled in stealth, assassination, and escape, like poisonous snakes in the dark, making them impossible to guard against.
Therefore, facing one thousand nine hundred and twenty-eight assassins, even the four great families would only face annihilation.
And this was only those who were registered. If those not on the registry were included, the strength of the Ghost Kill Tower would reach a terrifying level.
"Nine Nine Eight, from now on, you will be a mole in the Ghost Kill Tower! Be careful in your actions, and whatever you do, do not expose yourself, do you understand?"
Number Nine Nine Eight nodded and said, "Yes, Master!"
Zi Linling sneered, "I hope you don't betray me, because you know, betrayal is what I hate the most!"
Number Nine Nine Eight quickly assured her, "Master, please rest assured, Number Nine Nine Eight will absolutely not betray the Master!"
Zi Linling nodded, her eyes flashing with cold light, "I hope so!"
She told Number Nine Nine Eight that the poison in his body had not been cured, but merely sealed by her temporarily.
Therefore, if Number Nine Nine Eight betrayed her, she would not be blamed for being ruthless and heartless.
After all, the human heart is an unfathomable thing, and one must guard against others!
The coldness in Zi Linling's eyes instantly sent a shiver down Number Nine Nine Eight's spine.
He quickly stated, "Master, please rest assured, Number Nine Nine Eight will never betray you!"
Zi Linling nodded, "How should you report today's events? I don't need to teach you, do I?"
Number Nine Nine Eight replied, "Master, please rest assured. Number Nine Nine Three's mission failed. Number Nine Nine Eight should have fought to the death, but discovered that the intelligence on the target was incorrect, thus he remained hidden, only to bring back new intelligence to the tower!"
It had to be said that Number Nine Nine Eight's skill in lying was exceptionally high.
Apart from the phrase "remained hidden," everything else was the truth. Only in this way could his story withstand scrutiny.
Otherwise, if the Ghost Kill Tower investigated, he would not be able to explain himself.
Zi Linling was pleased and said, "Alright, you can go back now."
As her words fell, Number Nine Nine Eight was knocked unconscious by her.
The Divine Maiden Palace, as a divine artifact, would inevitably attract the covetous gaze of many if its existence were revealed.
Although Zi Linling was not afraid, she found it troublesome.
Therefore, if it could be kept secret, it absolutely should be.
After knocking Number Nine Nine Eight unconscious, she left the Divine Maiden Palace herself and then quietly slipped out of the Yue Lai Inn.
Zi Linling found a secluded spot, dragged Number Nine Nine Eight out, woke him up, and then turned back to the inn.
After all this commotion, it was already late into the night.
Zi Linling instructed Old Du to guard the room, while she re-entered the Divine Maiden Palace and began the tedious and boring process of alchemy.
Fortunately, there were plenty of medicinal herbs in the Divine Maiden Palace for her to use, so she didn't have to worry about running out of materials.
Ten days later, she finally broke through to become an Emperor-level Alchemist and began refining the Golden Sun Pill.
To ensure the success of the refining process, she would sleep after completing each step to restore her energy.
Three days later, inside the Nine Extremes Qiankun Cauldron, three golden pills appeared.
Although the quantity was smaller, the quality of the pills had improved significantly.
One of them even had a faint medicinal halo on it!
And the medicinal halo was a sign of a top-grade pill.
This meant that this one pill was an Emperor-level top-grade pill.
The other two pills were slightly inferior, only Emperor-level high-grade pills.
But even so, they were legendary.
After finishing her alchemy, Zi Linling slept soundly before emerging from the Divine Maiden Palace.
She apologized, "Old Du, I'm sorry. I lost track of time while refining pills and left you to stand guard for three days!"
Old Du did not puff up his beard and glare this time. Instead, he gently shook his head and said, "My dear girl, what are you talking about? Without you, I don't know how long I would have slept in the Nine Spirits Ring. Who knows if I would have slept until my soul dissipated? So, it's only right for me to help you with a few things occasionally!"
Just as Zi Linling was about to speak, she heard an arrogant voice from outside:
"Zi Linling, return my soul-nurturing wood tree!"
This voice sounded somewhat familiar to Zi Linling, but she couldn't recall it for a moment.