The Immortal Coward: Path of the Aegis Cauldron

Chapter 9: Battle of the Peaks

Zarox squeezed his eyes shut, hugging the Aegis Cauldron to his chest as if the piece of junk could be bulletproof. The sharp sword glided, slicing through the air with a deafening whistle. However, instead of piercing Zarox's chest, the blade slammed into the bronze cauldron's lid with a loud metallic clang. Sparks flew, sending Zarox tumbling backward until his back hit the alchemy table.

"Oh, thank goodness! This cauldron really is a top-quality product!" Zarox screamed in a high-pitched voice. He hurriedly crawled backward, knocking over a pile of potion bottles until they scattered everywhere.

The Shadow Valley Sect Leader, a thin man in black robes that seemed to absorb light, was stunned for a moment. He saw his precious sword now had a small dent at the tip. "What piece of junk are you holding, boy?" he hissed with a tone full of rage.

Zarox didn't wait to answer. He saw a golden opportunity while the man was still fixated on his damaged sword. Zarox wasn't thinking about high-level cultivation techniques; he was only thinking about one thing: how to not die today.

With a quick move, he grabbed a bottle containing a pink liquid from a nearby table, a concoction he remembered as a failed 'Chain Sneezing Potion', and hurled it straight at the Sect Leader's face.

"Take this, you arrogant old fossil!"

Smash!

The bottle shattered right on the Sect Leader's nose. Instantly, the grand man who was supposed to be spreading terror began to tremble. "Ha... ha... ACHOOOOO!"

The sound of his sneeze was so powerful that it created a wave of spiritual pressure, causing the pavilion floor to crack.

"ACHOOOOO! ACHOOOOO! ACHOOOOOOOOOO!"

Zarox didn't waste any time. He turned and ran as fast as he could toward the back of the storage cabinets, while behind him, the Sect Leader was still busy sneezing with a force capable of toppling wooden pillars.

"Crazy! It actually worked on him!" Zarox muttered, panting for breath. He looked for a safe hiding spot, but as he turned his head, he saw Aidos, still covered in green slime, staring at him with a murderous gaze from behind a plant rack.

"You... you dare humiliate our Sect Leader with kitchen toys?!" Aidos tried to stand up, even though his body was still making small popping sounds. "I will kill you, Zarox!"

"Shut it, Aidos! Look around you, your master's sect is in total shambles because of his sneezing!" Zarox shouted, trying to climb a high shelf to find a safer position.

Suddenly, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed from the main entrance. Elder Kael entered with an aura far more terrifying than usual. In his hand, he held an old wooden staff that was now beginning to glow with dark blue spiritual fire.

"Enough!" Kael's voice boomed, forcing everyone in the pavilion to fall silent; even the sneezing Shadow Valley Sect Leader froze instantly under the pressure of that energy. "This is the territory of the Sky Peak Sect. You come as guests, yet you behave like sewer rats?"

The Shadow Valley Sect Leader finally managed to stop sneezing, though his eyes were bloodshot and his nose was swollen. He glared at Kael with deep-seated hatred. "Kael, you dare defend this lowly servant? He has ruined our alchemical dignity!"

Zarox, who was now stuck on top of a shelf ten feet high, looked down. "Old man, sorry to say, but it was your cauldron that ruined your own sword! Don't blame me for your poor quality metal!"

"SHUT UP, BOY!" the Sect Leader screamed, swinging his hand. A pitch-black orb shot from his palm, slicing through the air toward Zarox.

Zarox shrieked, but before the orb could hit him, an ethereal hand of spiritual energy belonging to Kael caught the sphere and crushed it into dust.

"Zarox, get down," Kael commanded in a tone that allowed no argument.

Zarox climbed down with awkward movements, nearly falling before finally landing on the floor on his round belly. He stood behind Kael, feeling much safer. "Thank you, Elder. I thought today was my last day."

"It's not over yet," Kael whispered. He turned toward Zarox. "Earlier you said you had an 'unstable' pill you brewed last night, didn't you? Take it out."

Zarox hesitated. "But Elder, that pill... that pill could destroy this entire pavilion if not used correctly!"

"Take it out!" Kael ordered with a look that made Zarox tremble.

Zarox reached into his robe pocket and pulled out a single transparent pill with a pulsing golden core. The pill looked incredibly dangerous, as if it contained the concentrated power of a storm.

The Shadow Valley Sect Leader stared at the pill with unhideable greed. "That... is that an Early Stage Immortality Pill? That is a legendary treasure!"

"Nope," Zarox replied innocently. "This is a Surprise Pill. I don't even know what the effect will be if it's dropped into a hot cauldron, but I'm sure it will be very unpleasant for anyone nearby."

In a state of extreme panic, Zarox suddenly saw the enemy cauldron he had damaged earlier still in the middle of the room, glowing with dark blue fire. Without a second thought, he hurled the pill into the cauldron.

"ZAROX, DON'T!" Kael shouted, but it was too late.

The pill entered the cauldron, and in an instant, the entire room turned pure white. There was no loud explosion, no fire. There was only a light so bright that Zarox felt like his eyes were going to melt.

When the light began to fade, Zarox found himself still alive, but the pavilion now looked completely different. The walls had turned into transparent crystal, and the Shadow Valley Sect Leader... he no longer looked intimidating. The man had been transformed into a baby wearing ceremonial robes that were far too large, sitting on the floor and crying loudly.

"Waaaah! Waaaah!" the baby wailed, kicking at his oversized black robes.

The entire group of Shadow Valley disciples stood agape. A heavy silence enveloped the pavilion. Aidos even dropped his staff onto the floor.

Zarox stared at the baby with his mouth wide open. "Eh? Is that... is that your Sect Leader?"

One of the Shadow Valley disciples stepped forward trembling, looking at the crying baby, then staring at Zarox with pure terror. "You... you turned our leader into a baby?!"

Zarox took a step back, realizing he had just triggered a diplomatic crisis far greater than a mere alchemical challenge. "It was an accident! It was a luck pill with the wrong dosage!"

"RUN!" shouted one of the Shadow Valley disciples, and within seconds, the entire enemy force scrambled out of the pavilion, leaving their leader behind, still whimpering on the floor.

Zarox looked at Kael, who was now rubbing his forehead with an exhausted expression. "Zarox... you just won this challenge in the most ridiculous way in the history of the sect."

Zarox felt relieved, but his joy vanished when he heard a thunderous crack of lightning from outside. The sky above the sect turned pitch black in seconds, and an aura far more powerful than the Shadow Valley Sect Leader descended from the heavens. Someone had realized that Zarox had used a 'forbidden technique' outlawed by the empire.

A cold voice from the black clouds above them rang out, "Who dares disrupt the order of reincarnation with such lowly alchemy?"

Zarox stared at the sky, his legs going weak. He knew the real enemy had just arrived, and this time, his junk cauldron wouldn't be enough to save his life. "Master... do we still have any more 'sneezing' pills in stock?"