Dark Medicinal Soup (Continued)

"... If only it were my sister-in-law."

Si Ming shook his head, banishing the far-fetched thoughts from his mind, and glanced at the jade box, where there was still one Cold Marrow Pill Pearl left.

"It would be a waste to let ordinary people absorb it. The cold energy inside is also a rare treasure. For martial artists with cold-attribute Cultivation Body, its value is even greater than spiritual energy. So this one should either be given to Murong Qing or Si Shuiyun, hmm... we'll see when the time comes."

In an instant, Si Ming couldn't help but have the idea of going to Medicine King Valley to extort another one. After all, judging from the fact that the other party asked him to publicize that "the last Cold Marrow Pill Pearl was taken by Mad Ink", they must have kept more. If he asked, the other party would have no choice but to obediently take out treasures to shut him up in order not to expose the matter.

However, this approach is not very ethical. If pushed too far, the other party might choose to fight to the death. Moreover, Murong Qing and Si Shuiyun might not like this approach. Their cultivation has been achieved step by step. While they would not refuse any fortuitous encounters, they would not rely solely on external resources.

Relying on rare and precious heavenly materials and earthly treasures's cultivation is a one-time thing, not a second one. Not to mention the individual's own tolerance, once dependence is developed, it is easy to end up like "waiting for a rabbit to run into a tree stump." Martial artists who aspire to reach higher realms will not be so short-sighted. Only by knowing how to restrain themselves can they go further.

Two hours later, Murong Wu successfully refined the medicine, brewing a bowl of steaming "frozen soup," which looked like a white, mushy lump—he wasn't a Daoist priest, so refining medicine naturally didn't refer to refining elixirs, but rather to refining a medicinal soup.

"I thought all Chinese medicine was dark and murky, but I never expected it could turn into a white broth. That's amazing! What did you put in it?"

Si Ming peeked out and took a sniff. His expression changed drastically, and he felt his internal organs churning. He quickly clutched his throat and ran to the side to dry heave.

"This really is an antidote, not a deadly poison? Even the worst culinary creations aren't this terrifying!"

It's not that the smell is particularly foul or unpleasant; in fact, the smell is quite ordinary, neither foul nor fragrant, somewhere in between, very subtle. Overall, it's a "nauseating" smell, like someone who doesn't like radishes, but to them, this soup smells like radishes. However, they can't say that radishes smell bad; at most, they can say that they dislike this smell.

The soup that Murong Wu brewed had a "terrible" taste. What's worse, its aroma brought a slight coolness when inhaled, yet it also made the blood feel boiling. This sensation of both ice and fire was like taking a laxative and an antidiarrheal at the same time, so Anomalies that it was indescribable.

"Your performance is way too exaggerated. Don't you know that too much of a good thing can be bad?"

Ying Zhou, standing to the side, curled his lip, completely disbelieving Si Ming's reaction.

"If you don't believe me, you can go and smell it."

"Smell it, so what? It's just a bowl of medicine. It's not like I haven't drunk bitter and astringent herbal soups before. I once drank a medicine called 'White Flower Snake Grass Water,' which tasted like a stale bamboo mat soaked in sweat, and I still... vomited!"

Ying Zhou's reaction was even more exaggerated than Si Ming's; his demeanor completely changed, revealing a face full of exaggerated facial expressions, much like someone who had been constipated for years taking laxatives and was enjoying the relief when they accidentally squeezed too hard and ruptured their hemorrhoids.

Are you two performing a stand-up comedy routine?

Xia Guanxue, standing at the door, shook his head, about to retort with his usual "How childish," when a wisp of medicinal scent wafted over and gently touched the tip of his nose.

The next moment, Xia Guanxue swiftly retreated, leaving several afterimages, and retreated to a distance of ten feet, with a solemn expression as if facing a formidable enemy.

"You're exaggerating. It's just a bowl of medicine."

After a moment of surprise, Murong Wu asked suspiciously, "I admit this medicine tastes a bit unpleasant, but it's not as terrible as you all say, is it? Besides, good medicine tastes bitter, that's a common saying in the world."

Ying Zhou hurriedly held his breath and said, "This is no longer at the level of 'bitter taste,' but at the level of 'explosive taste,' more terrifying than poison in excrement!"

Si Ming also stopped breathing and said in a deep voice, "I think you should participate in the King of Chefs competition. You don't need to make any particularly delicious dishes. Just brew a bowl of medicine like this, knock out all the other competitors, and then you can fry a bowl of fried rice and win the championship."

"It's getting more and more exaggerated."

Murong Wu took a small sip and gestured, "See? It's not bad at all. I admit it can't compare to gourmet food, but medicine isn't meant to satisfy one's appetite; it's for treating illness. The taste doesn't matter at all. Besides, the herbs I added are all very common; there aren't any that smell bad like chicken manure vine."

"It seems there's really nothing wrong with it. Could it be like stinky tofu, smelling bad but tasting delicious?" Si Ming pondered for a while and said to Ying Zhou, "Why don't you give it a try? Maybe it tastes surprisingly good."

"Why don't you try it? Your body is much stronger than mine, you can definitely endure more than me." Ying Zhou indicated that he wouldn't fall for it.

From afar, Xia Guanxue said, "What are you still doing leaving the medicine? Hurry up and take it to Senior Ba!"

Murong Wu said, "I almost forgot, we need to send it over quickly before the medicine wears off."

The group arrived at Ba Shenhuang's room where he was resting. Si Ming had to use his internal energy to heal his injuries, so he had to hold his breath and enter the room. Ying Zhou and Xia Guanxue waited at the door, not daring to go in, for fear of being poisoned by a biological weapon.

"Senior, the medicinal soup is ready. I will now detoxify you," Si Ming said after a moment's thought, then added, "You may experience some discomfort during the process. I hope you can bear with it."

Ba Shenhuang glanced at him, his expression conveying, "Laozi 'm not even afraid of death, why would I be afraid of this little discomfort?" He didn't bother to say more and simply said, "Let's begin."

Murong Wu brought the medicine over, Ba Shenhuang didn't even look at it. He sipped all the soup in one gulp, then channeled his inner energy and controlled the medicinal power to rush towards the inflammatory poison. Upon seeing this, Si Ming immediately channeled his Blazing Sun True Qi, drawing out the cold poison along the meridians one by one.

Ying Zhou exclaimed in admiration, "Amazing! No wonder you are the War God. You can drink such awful medicine in one gulp without even flinching!"

Xia Guanxue unusually chimed in, "His willpower and determination far surpass ours, unmatched by ordinary people. No wonder he became War God; it was no accident."

Murong Wu defended himself, saying, "I've said it before, there's nothing wrong with my medicine. It's just that your reactions are too exaggerated... Perhaps you're allergic to one of the herbs, and your martial arts intuition alerted you, causing you to subconsciously feel aversion."

Si Ming circulated his Internal Cultivation, using the medicinal power to sweep away the toxins in Ba Shenhuang's body. The process was quite easy and without any setbacks, after all, with his level of cultivation, he already possessed a subtle level of control.

Cold counters heat, and heat counters cold; this two-pronged approach prevents the circulation of the poison from taking hold. At the same time, Ba Shenhuang himself absorbs and guides the medicinal power through his own internal energy.

As two of the most powerful individuals in the world, their grasp of qi, understanding of the human body, and application of techniques had reached a level of consummate skill. Therefore, their cooperation was unstoppable, and they easily eliminated the poison, completing their task in a short time.

Ba Shenhuang spat out a foul-smelling blood. As soon as it landed, the blood boiled into steam, appearing to be very hot, yet it froze the ground with frost.

"Mission accomplished. Senior only needs to rest for half a month to fully recover," Ying Zhou said.

"Thank you for your hard work. I will remember this favor. I will now go into seclusion to cultivate and try my best to shorten the recovery time," said Ba Shenhuang.

"Haste makes waste. Senior, it's best to take it slow and not rush. The Demon Race's original strategy has failed, and they may well make the best of a mistake by leading their Demon Beast army away from Nation of Valor to attack other places. After all, continuing to drag this out will only harm them."

"I know what I'm doing, you don't need to worry. Go out with them, I need to practice my skills."

Si Ming didn't try to persuade him any further. After all, he was in a position of power and couldn't understand other people's back pain. If the Demon Race had invaded the Su State, he probably would have made the same choice, eager to eliminate the enemy and unwilling to delay for even a day longer.

"See? Senior Ba isn't reacting at all, which shows my medicine is fine; it's your fault."

"It's hard to say. It could be because the War God is a taste bud idiot, or it could be due to the effects of the poison, which has greatly dulled his sense of smell and taste."

"Yes, the smell of that medicine alone is so terrifying. I can't even imagine what it would taste like to drink it directly. The War God must have experienced the terror of life and death to be able to endure it."

"By the way, is this just an isolated case, or are all the medicines you brew this foul-smelling, Little Wu? Haven't any patients complained to you before?"