Meng Qi called out again, “Dancing crane lily, Yaksha bamboo leaves, profound frost herb…” She listed five kinds of anti-parasitic spiritual herbs without hesitation.
The Five Spirits Cauldron was quickly filled with the herbs Meng Qi needed. The little white tiger glanced at its cauldron friend, then poked the herbs with its paw. Meng Qi bent down to pick it up, then flicked another ninth-grade spirit. Lihuo fire burst in an instant, concocting the five herbs inside the cauldron. As it rapidly churned, a fragrant medicinal aroma soon emitted.
The man, who had been calmly recounting his experience, suddenly let out a bloodcurdling scream. His frail body leaped up high, then fell back onto the bed with a thud. “It hurts!” he wailed in agony, rolling desperately on the bed. Soon, he rolled onto the floor, clutching his head and writhing: “It’s killing me! Ahhh! Damn you, quack healer! Are you trying to kill me?!”
“Ah, it hurts! It hurts!” His agonized screams filled the small hut. “Quack healer… Quack healer! I don’t want your help anymore! Get away, you quack!!!” Already weak, the man was drenched in sweat within moments, soaking his clothes. Meng Qi had just unbuttoned his clothes and hadn’t tied his waistband back. A thin, ribbed chest showed from his disheveled robe. Under his frail skin, countless yellow bean-sized creatures seemed to be moving rapidly, scurrying about.
As the medicinal aroma in the room grew stronger, the middle-aged cultivator’s strength also waned. Soon, he lay powerlessly on the floor, staring blankly at the sky, murmuring, “Quack healer… Quack healer… Quack healer is killing me…”
The little white tiger seemed to understand his words. It roared angrily, although its voice was still cute, and waved its paw as if accusing the man. Meng Qi’s expression remained as calm as before. She had long ceased to be fazed by such occurrences. She squatted down and easily lifted the now powerless man back onto the bed. By this point, not just under the skin of his chest, but also on his arms and cheeks, yellow bean-sized things could be seen moving rapidly.
Meng Qi raised her hand, and her silver medicinal knife was once again in her grasp. With a flash of the blade, the man’s clothes were shredded, revealing his naked upper body, which had totally lost its attractiveness after three months of torturing illness.
The little white tiger, who had been baring his teeth and claws just now, froze. Its azure eyes stared blankly at Meng Qi, who swiftly raised the silver medicinal knife again.
The knife’s tip was sharp, narrow, and very pointed. Meng Qi moved quickly, each cut leaving a small bead of blood on the man’s body. Wherever the knife passed, the ‘little yellow beans’ scurrying under the man’s skin stopped moving.
In less than half an hour, the man’s body was dotted with hundreds of blood beads. His face, which had been contorted in agony, was now completely calm. His cheeks were flushed, and his eyes seemed clouded.
Meng Qi’s gaze was calm. Her expression didn’t change from start to finish. “It’s done,” she said. Her voice, cold like a mountain stream, brought the man’s confused mind fully back to reality. “I will give you some medicine to apply. The wounds will heal quickly.” Meng Qi paused, “Take good care of your body, and you will recover.”
“Tha-thank you, fellow Daoist,” the middle-aged cultivator was now fully awake, feeling even more embarrassed than before. “I can… I can apply it myself…”
Before he could finish, the medicinal liquid from the Five Spirits Cauldron flew over, and Meng Qi smoothly spread it over his wounds. The yellow bean-sized bumps gradually disappeared, and his skin returned to normal.
Heart-eating bugs… She still thought about the heart-eating bugs, which typically lived in swamps because they couldn’t survive without moist environments. Outside their habitat, the bugs would dissolve into pus on their own without a cultivator needing to deal with them. So why were they in the forest near the man’s city? According to his account, there shouldn’t have been a suitable environment for the heart-eating bugs there.
In fact, according to the book given to her by Li Che, the heart-eating bugs were not particularly fearsome. Compared to them, Meng Qi knew of another plant that was far more terrifying–a plant that not only fed on flesh and blood but could also devour its victim’s souls and spirits—the immortal devouring vine found only in the Demon Realm.
But she shook her head, chuckling at herself for thinking too much. Never mind—this was just a test of the Ten Absolutes Mountain, that’s all.
“All right,” Meng Qi confirmed that she had fully eradicated the heart-eating bugs from the man’s body and said to him, “Rest well.”
“Thank you, Fellow Daoist,” the man suddenly struggled to sit up. “Years ago, while hunting in the forest, I found a bamboo slip. But its contents were too profound for me, especially since they were related to medical arts, which I completely don’t understand. Your medical skills are exceptional, and your heart is kind. This bamboo slip would only gather dust with me. I’d like to give it to you, hoping you can save more people like me.”
“…Thank you,” Meng Qi said. She knew this must be the additional reward for the third challenge. She took the bamboo slip, infused a strand of spiritual aura into it, and quickly scanned its contents.
Eh? Her eyes suddenly widened in surprise. Is this bamboo slip…?
Meng Qi looked incredulously at the contents of the bamboo slip. If it were to be named, it would probably be called ‘Classics of Ancient Poison.’ Meng Qi took a quick glance and saw the names of dozens of notorious poisonous plants, feared not only in the Three Thousand Worlds but also in the Demon Realm and Devil Realm. Besides, there were names of some extinct poisonous plants she had only heard of, and others she hadn’t even heard of before. The bamboo slip not only detailed their effects and toxicity but also their habitats and growing methods.
But that was not all. On the last page of the bamboo slip, the signature read in delicate characters Meng Qi was now familiar with: Lin Yan.
It’s Senior Lin Yan again! Meng Qi put away the bamboo slip. When she turned back to look at the hut, it was already shrouded in mist like the previous ones, obscuring her view.
So, the reward was a bamboo slip from Lin Yan—when this thought struck Meng Qi, the bamboo slip she was holding suddenly vanished from her palm. Simultaneously, a new bamboo slip appeared in her spiritual sea, lying next to the one Lin Yan had previously given her. Just like the other slip, this new bamboo slip was also quickly wrapped in a cocoon of spiritual aura.
Indeed, it was something from Lin Yan. Although Meng Qi didn’t know why Lin Yan’s bamboo slips could always enter her spiritual sea and be nourished by the aura produced by her golden core, this made it much easier for her to use the contents of the slips. Now, without using aura, she could easily access the content with just a thought.
It seemed that she and Lin Yan truly had a fate. Meng Qi couldn’t help feeling a little happy; Lin Yan was the legendary Profound-Rank medical cultivator and also a predecessor she admired the most.
Meng Qi retracted her spiritual consciousness from the spiritual sea. As soon as she turned her head, she saw natal cauldron and Yun Qingyan’s primordial spirit, still floating beside her. The little white tiger primordial spirit, hiding in the Five Spirits Cauldron, peeked out its head at Meng Qi. Its azure eyes looked somewhat odd.
Meng Qi found its gaze amusing and couldn’t help but reach out to rub its head. “What’s with that look?” Although she knew the little guy couldn’t speak apart from making some cries, she still asked with a smile, “Why are you looking at me like that?”
Sure enough, the little white tiger made a few cries, its azure eyes fixedly staring at Meng Qi.
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