“Oh dear... Oh my goodness, you've got to admit these humans are really capable. I can't even wrap my head around how they built such a tall building. Standing up here and looking down, you can see the whole city crystal clear. I've gotta say, it really is quite a sight...”
Hu Ban'er was scared out of his wits. Standing in the whistling wind, he clung tightly to a carved decorative fixture and said with a flattering smile, “Mountain Lord, do you like looking at the scenery here?”
“Humans have always known how to enjoy themselves better than the demon race. Even if they can't fly, they will think of every possible way to look at the scenery from up high.”
Nan Zhi sat on the edge, her tiger paws resting on the marble ledge as she casually threw something over. “This Lord has seen your loyalty to the demon race.”
She threw it so casually that Hu Ban'er instinctively reached out to catch it, nearly slipping and falling off. Fortunately, he still had his large tail. Using it to propel himself, he leaped and shrank back, clutching the item tightly.
It was a thumb-sized porcelain bottle. Although the opening was plugged with a wooden cork, it couldn't mask the faint fragrance of medicine wafting from within.
When shaken gently, he could feel something rolling around inside.
“!!!”
“E-Elixir pills? The kind that big Golden Mouse ate?!”
Hu Ban'er's eyes widened. He instinctively wanted to ask if they were real, but remembering who he was dealing with, a beaming smile immediately spread across his furry fox face. “Thank you, Mountain Lord! Being able to guide you is this little demon's honor! Although this little demon used to help the human authorities, in private, my heart is completely clear. Humans and demons walk different paths; in the end, we of the demon race are the true family.”
“It is good that you understand.” Nan Zhi shifted her golden eyes, her face devoid of expression. “As long as you do your work for this Lord with peace of mind, you will naturally not lack benefits. This Lord is tired. We will seek the next location tomorrow.”
After saying this, she slightly lowered her eyes, seemingly annoyed. She crossed her legs and began to meditate, not sparing the old fox a single glance, as if she had forgotten he was even there.
It was as if what she had casually given away was just some roadside weed or pebble, nothing of any importance.
Hu Ban'er was highly perceptive. He bowed to Nan Zhi twice, then quietly tiptoed and scurried toward a corner.
Like a thief, he unplugged the bottle and poured out three round, fragrant pills.
Sure enough, they were exactly the same as the ones he had seen in the Mountain Lord's cave dwelling.
If these things were to end up outside and people found out, not to mention the government, even the Taoists of Longhu Mountain would probably be tempted.
They were fresh, with intact medicinal efficacy—genuine elixir pills that absolutely could not be compared to those dug up from tombs or passed down through generations, whose medicinal properties were worse than a raw sweet potato.
Who knew how to refine pills nowadays?
The techniques for refining pills and compounding medicines had long been lost. Many of the spirit herbs and spirit fruits in the pill recipes had gone extinct eight hundred years ago.
Even if a real Taoist doctor refined them according to a recipe, it would at most be nothing more than ash burned from a bunch of weeds.
Only a few well-known sects still had a tiny handful of successors left. As for the rest, let alone seeing one, eighty percent of people didn't even know what a Taoist doctor was.
If he kept these things on his person, he wouldn't be able to protect them.
With just a single glance, Hu Ban'er made his decision. He opened his mouth and swallowed all three pills, happily rubbing his belly as he waited for the effects to kick in. But before he could even grin for a moment, he felt his belly bloat, his limbs fill with blood, and a crimson shroud cover his vision...
These pills! How could the medicinal properties of these pills be so terrifying?!
How was that golden mouse perfectly fine after eating them? What kind of breed of mouse was that to be so ferocious?!
Before losing consciousness, only this single thought crossed the old fox's mind.
Thus, when Nan Zhi finished her meditation and opened her eyes, what she saw was a half-dead fox with a belly bloated like a leather ball, his limbs so congested they looked ready to burst.
He had already passed out, his belly so round that if you tied a string to him, he could be used as a balloon.
Nan Zhi: “...”
Was this the effect of swallowing three Qi-Supplementing Pills?
Corn could eat these things like snacks!
What a miscalculation. She really hadn't expected the demons of the real world to be so weak.
But she still had to save him, otherwise she wouldn't have a guide anymore.
...
One month later.
[Congratulations, Cultivator, on slaying the Level 15 red-named monster “Flying Head”! You have obtained Upgrade EXP × 100, “Flying Head Spirit” × 1, Heavenly Treasure Tree Lottery Ticket × 2, Spiritual Energy Cluster (Large) × 1, and Spiritual Energy Cluster (Small) × 5.]
[Congratulations, Cultivator, on slaying the Level 26 red-named monster “Pipa Ghost”! You have obtained Upgrade EXP × 200, “Pipa Ghost Spirit” × 1, Heavenly Treasure Tree Lottery Ticket × 3, and Spiritual Energy Cluster (Large) × 2.]
[Congratulations, Cultivator, on slaying the Level 30 red-named monster “Human-Faced Night Bird”! You have obtained Upgrade EXP × 300, “Human-Faced Night Bird Spirit” × 1, “Basic Formations” (Green Quality) × 1, Heavenly Treasure Tree Lottery Ticket × 6, Spiritual Energy Cluster (Large) × 5, Rejuvenation Pills × 5, and Qi-Augmenting Pills × 5.]
[Congratulations, Cultivator, on slaying the Level 28 red-named monster “Xuyu”! You have obtained Upgrade EXP × 200, “Xuyu Spirit” × 1, Heavenly Treasure Tree Lottery Ticket × 5, and Spiritual Energy Cluster (Small) × 5.]
[Congratulations, Cultivator, on slaying one Level 17 yellow-named monster “Skin-Shedding Ghost”, one Level 15 red-named monster “Skin-Shedding Ghost”, and one Level 17 red-named monster “Skin-Shedding Ghost”! You have obtained Upgrade EXP × 600, “Skin-Shedding Ghost Spirit” × 3, Heavenly Treasure Tree Lottery Ticket × 3, “Encyclopedia of Spirit Herbs” (Green Quality) × 1, and Spiritual Energy Cluster (Small) × 3.]
[Congratulations, Cultivator, on slaying...]
...
Nan Zhi spent an entire month roaming the southwest region without rest. Almost all the higher-level red-named monsters in this area were slain by her, their spirits turned into nourishment to feed the Witch Corpse.
The progress bar for her divine ability extraction had very generously surged by a large margin, reaching a touching 69.1%.
She had also accumulated as many as thirty-three Heavenly Treasure Tree Lottery Tickets, which was enough to initiate the next round of ten consecutive draws.
Perhaps the power of the Mountain Lord’s Curse had waned somewhat, as the kill rewards had actually dropped a few things that Nan Zhi desperately needed, which was unprecedented.
One was a basic defense formation. Although it was so simple that it only consisted of three formation flags, it was unexpectedly practical. With just a tiny amount of spiritual energy to activate it, it could create a defensive barrier within a five-hundred-meter radius capable of withstanding a single blow from a mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator.
Nan Zhi had tested it and found that she could use spiritual energy clusters to activate the formation. While undamaged, the formation could generate three defensive barriers; once its spiritual energy was depleted, it would turn to ash.
There were also ancient texts related to cultivation, such as the “Encyclopedia of Spirit Herbs,” “Spirit Plant Cultivation Guide,” “Beast Taming Sect Notes,” “Encyclopedia of Formations,” and “Alchemical Insights.” Since Nan Zhi was severely lacking in general knowledge of cultivation, these books were practically a godsend.
Aside from these, there was also a highly suspicious cultivation method.
—The “Great Freedom Joy Spirit Absorption Art.”
This was a random kill reward dropped after Nan Zhi killed Li Dapeng. However, after only roughly skimming through its contents, she decided to destroy it.
This “Great Freedom Joy Spirit Absorption Art” was actually a demonic cultivation method.
According to the book, this method was uniquely created by a cultivator named the “Great Freedom Joy Auspicious Holy Mother.” Its cultivation style differed from other immortal cultivation methods, as it placed immense emphasis on “spirit roots” and “aptitude.”
According to the book, humans were naturally divided into various classes. Based on the classification of spirit root grades, the absolute pinnacle of talent was the Heavenly Spirit Root, which was a single-attribute spirit root. Following that were dual spirit roots, triple spirit roots, quadruple spirit roots, and quintuple spirit roots.
—Without a spirit root, no matter how hard one cultivated, there was absolutely no hope of achieving immortality.
It was utter nonsense.
With an expressionless face, Nan Zhi set fire to the cultivation method and burned it to ashes.
Rate on N.U.
