Li Nanzhu was equally shocked by the scene before her. She remembered this alchemy room clearly; the original novel mentioned that after Cang Dongqing obtained the alchemy inheritance, she was teleported here. She hadn't just obtained countless pills, but also many ancient pill recipes, including the Foundation Establishment pill.
It was also here that she had consumed it, breaking through directly to the Foundation Establishment stage and becoming a peerless genius rarely seen in a thousand years.
She had also gifted some of these pills to certain powerful figures, earning their favor. This had been her greatest support before she completely mastered the refinement of high-grade pills.
And now, they had stumbled into this place by mistake? Did this count as stealing Cang Dongqing's opportunity?
"Check the area first," Zhu Yinxi said, cautiously stepping forward with his flute held horizontally in front of him. "Watch out for traps."
Hearing this, the trio's restless hearts calmed down. Duan Xianxing supported Liu Qingyang as they followed behind, his eyes wide as saucers. "These pills... they must have been stored for at least several hundred years, right? How does their medicinal power look completely intact?"
Li Nanzhu approached the nearest medicine rack, her fingertips lightly brushing over a jade bottle.
The characters for 'cleansing heart pill' were carved on the bottle in ancient seal script. The bottle felt warm to the touch, and the flowing spiritual light of the pills inside was faintly visible—their quality was several times purer than the high-grade ones she had seen in Qingyun City.
"This preservation array..." She noticed fine lines etched into the base of each rack. "It's incredibly sophisticated."
At that moment, Zhu Yinxi spoke again. "Alright, there are no traps. Relax."
Duan Xianxing's eyes lit up, and he rushed to the nearest rack, casually picking up a medicine bottle. However, the moment he saw the writing on it, his hands began to tremble uncontrollably, and his eyes bulged. "Th-this is a 9-turn soul-returning pill?! The top-tier pill from legend that can grow flesh on bone and revive the dead?! Wasn't the recipe for this lost ages ago!"
Liu Qingyang nearly tore his wound open when he heard that. "Let me see!" His hands were shaking as he snatched the jade bottle. "The pill veins look like a human figure, and the medicinal fragrance is condensed and won't disperse... It's real!"
Duan Xianxing immediately took the bottle back with both hands, cradling it carefully. "Such a precious thing can't be dropped! If I were to sell this, I don't think I'd ever have to kill demonic beasts for money for the rest of my life!"
Li Nanzhu burst out laughing. "Seventh Senior Brother, if First Senior Brother saw your money-grubbing face, he'd definitely scold you again."
Duan Xianxing replied righteously, "If First Senior Brother saw this many treasures, he'd be even more excited than me!"
Zhu Yinxi shook his head helplessly. He picked up a white jade box at random, but froze slightly upon opening it. "...Purple mansion mind-concentrating pill?"
Upon hearing that, Liu Qingyang immediately struggled to crawl over. "What?! A purple mansion mind-concentrating pill?! Isn't that a top-grade pill that can repair soul damage?!"
Zhu Yinxi nodded. "And the quality is excellent. It was refined by at least a tier 8 pill master."
Duan Xianxing leaned in, his eyes shining. "Second Senior Brother, why don't you eat one? We have so many anyway; a whole bottle for each of us would be enough!"
Zhu Yinxi glanced at him indifferently. "The purple mansion mind-concentrating pill is for those with soul injuries. Why would I eat it?"
Duan Xianxing scratched his head. "Uh... then how about I keep it safe for you for now?"
Liu Qingyang rolled his eyes. "Brother Duan, you're calculating so loudly that the abacus beads are practically hitting me in the face."
Duan Xianxing argued, "Nonsense! I'm just afraid Second Senior Brother will be careless and lose it!"
Li Nanzhu had already wandered around the racks with Suisui in her arms. Suddenly, she discovered a small wooden box in a corner. Opening it, she found over a dozen crystal-clear pills neatly arranged inside, emitting a faint, sweet fragrance.
"Eh? What's this?" She picked one up curiously and sniffed it.
The soul fire in Suisui's eye sockets suddenly flared up, and its skeletal claws twitched as if it really wanted to snatch it and eat it.
Liu Qingyang limped over and took a look, instantly shocked. "This is... a spirit-feeding pill? A top-tier pill specifically for feeding spirit beasts?!"
Duan Xianxing leaned in immediately. "What? For spirit beasts? Then we can't use it. Why don't we..."
Before he could finish, Suisui lunged forward, snatching a pill directly from Li Nanzhu's hand. It crunched and chewed it, and its soul fire instantly brightened a bit.
Liu Qingyang was dumbfounded. "...It's a skeleton. Can it even digest pills?"
"And does Suisui even count as a spirit beast?" Duan Xianxing was also stunned.
Li Nanzhu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "It seems it likes them very much."
Zhu Yinxi walked over, took another pill from the box, and handed it to Suisui. "Since it's useful, let it eat more."
Suisui happily accepted it, crunching and chewing even more vigorously.
"What a little glutton," Li Nanzhu couldn't help but pat Suisui's smooth skull again.
Seeing this, Duan Xianxing's eyes darted around. He suddenly picked up a golden pill from the rack and smiled sneakily. "Junior Sister, do you think this could be the legendary youth-retaining pill? The kind where you stay young forever after eating it?"
Before Li Nanzhu could speak, Zhu Yinxi spoke coldly, "That's a gold marrow pill. It's highly toxic. After eating it, your bones will turn into gold, and you'll become a golden statue."
Duan Xianxing's hand jerked, nearly dropping the pill. "Holy crap! It's that poisonous?!"
Liu Qingyang gloated, "Brother Duan, why don't you try it? You might sell for a good price as a statue."
Duan Xianxing snapped, "...Get lost!"
The four of them joked around for a while, finally relaxing.
Zhu Yinxi checked Liu Qingyang's injuries and found a bottle of jade marrow skin-generating ointment on the rack to apply to his wounds.
Liu Qingyang winced in pain, but the wounds began to heal quickly. He let out a long breath. "Finally, I feel alive again..."
By this time, Suisui had finished the entire bottle of spirit-feeding pills. It hopped over to an inconspicuous wooden rack and pointed its bone claw at a dusty earthenware jar.
"Eh?" Li Nanzhu picked up the jar curiously. Opening it, she found several round, brown pills inside, emitting a faint sweet scent.
Liu Qingyang leaned over to sniff them, and his eyes suddenly lit up. "These are 'sugar bean pills'!"
"Sugar bean pills?" Duan Xianxing looked bewildered.
"They're pills specifically made for children," Liu Qingyang explained with a smile. "They taste sweet and can regulate qi and blood. They were my favorite when I was little."
As he spoke, he popped one into his mouth and immediately beamed. "It's even osmanthus-flavored!"
Duan Xianxing tried one skeptically, and his eyes instantly narrowed into slits. "Mmm... so sweet!"
Zhu Yinxi watched the two of them helplessly, but his hand uncontrollably took one and put it in his own mouth. Mmm, it really was delicious!
Suisui took the opportunity to jump up and snatch one, crunching away. Although it had no sense of taste, its soul fire danced happily.
Li Nanzhu couldn't help but smile. "It seems Suisui likes them too."
Duan Xianxing nodded vigorously. "Suisui is truly a treasure; it can find anything!"
In a moment, Li Nanzhu discovered a small jade box in a corner. Opening it, she saw twelve crystal-clear pills neatly arranged inside, each with a tiny flower sealed within.
"Are these... twelve flower messenger pills?" she said in surprise. "It's said that after taking them, one's body will emit the spiritual aura of the corresponding floral scent. They're the most beloved beauty pills for female cultivators."
"If these were put in an auction house outside, those female cultivators would go crazy for them, wouldn't they?" Liu Qingyang said with a laugh.
"We're rich, we're rich, we're rich!" Duan Xianxing was already fantasizing about the wonderful life he'd lead after selling these pills.
Zhu Yinxi shook his head and continued checking the other racks.
Suddenly, he felt a mechanism. With a light press, a secret compartment popped open. Resting quietly inside was an alchemy handbook.
Zhu Yinxi flipped it open and found it contained recipes for various bizarre pills.
"Smile pill: causes the consumer to laugh joyfully for three days..."
"Sleepwalking pill: allows the consumer to walk a thousand miles at night without realizing it..."
"Voice-changing pill: allows the consumer to mimic the voices of others..."
Li Nanzhu blinked. Wasn't this the same manual Cang Dongqing had obtained? To think Zhu Yinxi had found it so easily. It seemed her Second Senior Brother's fortune was not low either.
Seeing that Zhu Yinxi had found the manual, Liu Qingyang also wanted to see if he could find anything else. However, his sleeve knocked over a small porcelain bottle, and pale gold powder began to drift through the air.
"Be careful!" She had just voiced the warning when Liu Qingyang inhaled a small amount of the powder.
"It's fine, it's just a bit sweet..." Before Liu Qingyang could finish, the corners of his mouth turned up uncontrollably. He tried to keep a straight face but let out a snicker.
Duan Xianxing leaned in curiously. "Brother Liu, what are you laughing a—" Before he could finish, he also inhaled the drifting powder. He immediately beamed. "Hahaha, this bottle... this bottle looks just like Second Senior Brother's face when he's angry!"
Zhu Yinxi had been looking at the handbook, but he looked up upon hearing that, just in time to see Duan Xianxing pointing at an ordinary medicine bottle and laughing hysterically. He frowned and approached, but was grabbed by the sleeve as he passed Liu Qingyang.
"Zhu... Daoist Zhu..." Liu Qingyang laughed until tears welled up. "You... there's a smiling puppet made of spiritual energy dancing on top of your head..."
Zhu Yinxi instinctively reached up and indeed felt an invisible object, seemingly an effect caused by that unknown powder.
He quickly took two steps back, only to bump into Suisui, who was secretly eating sugar bean pills. The little skeleton stumbled, and the pills in its bone claws rolled onto the ground—one of which happened to be a smile pill mixed in with the sugar bean pills.
The moment the pill shattered, more golden powder rose into the air.
Zhu Yinxi hurriedly held his breath, but it was a step too late. His habitually cold features suddenly softened, and the corners of his lips twitched slightly, clearly struggling to endure.
Seeing this, Li Nanzhu couldn't help but laugh along. "Second Senior Brother, you..."
"Don't say it." Zhu Yinxi turned his face away, though his voice carried an unmistakable hint of laughter. The tips of his ears turned slightly red, and his shoulders shook suspiciously.
Duan Xianxing was already collapsed on the ground laughing. "Hahaha, Second Senior Brother, you're blushing... hahaha..." As he laughed, he suddenly noticed his eyebrows starting to feel hot. "Wait... what's happening to my eyebrows?"
Liu Qingyang wiped away his tears of laughter. "Red, they're as red as boiled shrimp, hahaha!"
Suisui curiously poked the space between Duan Xianxing's eyebrows, and its bone claws were instantly dyed pink.
The little skeleton froze for a second, then suddenly began to spin around wildly. With every rotation, it puffed out a string of colored bubbles.
Li Nanzhu hurriedly found a calamity-relieving pill from the rack. "Hurry and take this!" Just as she handed the pill to Zhu Yinxi, she accidentally inhaled a drifting bubble and let out a light laugh. "These bubbles... they're actually sweet-flavored..."
Duan Xianxing hurriedly swallowed the pill, and his eyebrows finally slowly returned to their normal color.
Liu Qingyang's laughter also gradually stopped, though the corners of his mouth still twitched.
"The owner of this alchemy room... really had a twisted sense of humor..." Duan Xianxing said resentfully.
Li Nanzhu was also feeling quite emotional. In the original novel, the descriptions of the items in the alchemy room were brief, basically a passing mention. It only stated that Cang Dongqing had looted all the pills and taken the handbook. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she never would have imagined there were so many good things inside.
But this time... the corners of Li Nanzhu's mouth curled up slightly. All these things belonged to them now.
Li Nanzhu held the now-full Suisui and leaned against a medicine rack, suddenly smiling. "Doesn't this count as a blessing in disguise? We were hunted all this way, and we ended up with a huge bargain?"
Liu Qingyang's eyes were also full of laughter. "If being hunted meant I could find this many pills every time, I wouldn't mind being chased a few more times."
Duan Xianxing rolled his eyes. "Forget it. If it happens again, my heart is going to stop."
Zhu Yinxi gave a faint smile and looked around. "There's no rush regarding the pills. It's safe here for now. Let's recover our spiritual energy, nurse our wounds, and rest for a night before discussing anything else."
Everyone nodded, their tensed nerves finally relaxing.
Of the four, Li Nanzhu was the most relaxed. After all, she had read the original novel and knew how to leave this alchemy room. However, the day's escape had been exhausting, and she truly wanted to rest.
"I'm going to sleep first... tomorrow... we'll study how to empty this place..." Duan Xianxing's voice gradually became slurred.
Zhu Yinxi shook his head, but couldn't help a small smile from appearing.
The alchemy room slowly fell silent, leaving only the sound of several people's steady breathing.
Rate on N.U.
