Pharmaceuticals and Poisons

The torrential rain left Lin Li with little interest in cultivating, so she decided to make medicine instead.

She had quite a few medicinal ingredients on hand, and with her familiarity with the Myriad Herbs Record, she could naturally use the herbs she had to create medicines—or poisons!

Her gaze fell lightly upon the Storage Spirit Tool ring on her finger, which looked as though it had been carved from ruby.

The things she had on hand were enough for her to refine some simple potions, such as a body-tempering potion.

Unlike simply placing herbs into a bathtub in proportion, one after another, potions were made by directly melting them into liquids with flames in a pill furnace and combining them. Their effects were about half again as strong.

Her fights with Ling Xuan—no, sparring matches! Although the reward was only a hundred levels each time, the items she received were all exceptionally good.

For instance, the ruby Storage Spirit Tool ring on her hand, as well as the entirely crimson treasure cauldron she took from it.

The treasure cauldron was half a person tall, its body engraved with a phoenix totem. Her expression turned solemn.

As her Soul Power circulated, a clear, shrill phoenix cry rang out. A blackish-red flame of extreme heat instantly sprang from her palm.

The flames looked fierce, yet they slowly licked at the treasure cauldron.

Clear-Mind Grass, Wisdom-Speech Flower... a string of medicinal herbs was tossed into the treasure cauldron.

Sensing the pure medicinal power within the herbs, the treasure cauldron flared up. Flames instantly surged around it, as though it had been born from fire itself.

Lin Li formed hand seals, and the flames beneath the cauldron suddenly surged. Her eyes narrowed when she saw it, and she inwardly cursed. This is bad.

Her Soul Power weakened, and the flames gradually subsided. Even so, a scorched smell drifted out from the pill furnace.

Lin Li continued forming hand seals until the burnt smell faded. A stream of liquid that looked almost charred slowly flowed from the phoenix spout of the treasure cauldron, caught securely in a small white jade bottle.

Lin Li held it in her hand, and her expression abruptly changed as she sensed the medicinal power within the liquid.

Sure enough, the ancients had been absolutely right: jade must be carved to become a useful vessel!

This potion was nearly a failed product, yet even so, its power far surpassed that of simply soaking in a herbal bath.

The rain outside hung like a curtain. After putting everything away, Lin Li had no intention of continuing her cultivation.

She spread the bedding made from the white tiger hide she had previously ravaged across the bed, rested her head on the pillow, and closed her eyes.

Lin Li slept until noon. The rain was still falling in a soft patter, and she let out a leisurely sigh.

After tidying up, she made herself a bowl of noodles and began slurping them down.

"Is anyone here?"

Lin Li was a Soul Master, so her hearing was sharp. Her home was in the middle of Soul Town Village, and from the sound of it, they had already entered the village.

Lazily picking up an umbrella, she opened it and went to meet these visiting "guests."

These people were truly interesting. Whenever she needed them, no one showed up. Whenever she did not, they came faster than anyone.

Lin Li walked over beneath her umbrella and found a group that was clearly from a Soul Master Academy. Their leader was a man dressed magnificently, wearing half-body armor.

The man was valiant and imposing, every bit the image of masculinity. The murderous air in his eyes made others afraid to meet his gaze.

Several people standing beside him wore violet academy uniforms. However, the conspicuous school emblem made Lin Li narrow her eyes.

The Star Luo Empire? The Star Luo Empire's national emblem—there was only one academy that dared use it as its school emblem.

The Star Luo Imperial Academy.

Lin Li stopped five paces away from them, holding her umbrella as she said calmly, "Everyone, is there no one left in Soul Town Village?"

Her voice was calm, though it carried a hint of wariness.

The leading man frowned and instinctively swept his gaze over the area. The surroundings were indeed terrifyingly silent.

With his sharp eye, he could tell that the entire village had been renovated. Looking at the girl in the Junior Spirit Master Academy uniform, he spoke in a gentler tone. "We are teachers from Star Luo Royal Spirit Master Academy, bringing our academy's students to hunt Soul Beasts for soul rings. Would it be possible for us to rest in the village for a while?"

Lin Li gave a quiet hum. "No need to ask permission. The village is simple and can only shelter you from the rain. If you feel uneasy about it, light an incense stick for the row of graves behind the village before you leave."

After saying that, she nodded lightly to them, held her umbrella, and slowly headed home.

The leader looked at the others and said calmly, "We will stay in this village to rest and regroup. Once the rain stops, we will go hunt Soul Beasts."

The students behind him immediately nodded, not daring to say more. Unlike the generally mild-mannered academies of Heaven Dou, the academies of the Star Luo Empire were more like armies.

Every student obeyed their teachers as subordinates obeyed their superiors, regardless of whether they came from nobility or common birth.

Perhaps that was why the Star Luo Empire was stronger than the Heaven Dou Empire.

Back home, Lin Li lazily stretched and murmured in a languid state, "Once the rain stops, I should return to Saint Er Junior Soul Master Academy."

Soul Town Village had once been her most peaceful refuge, but the branch that had supported that refuge had collapsed. There was no reason for her to remain here.

Besides, the living conditions here were nowhere near as good as those at Saint Er Junior Soul Master Academy.

With that thought, Lin Li closed her eyes and slowly activated the Death God Art to cultivate.

However, she had not expected the rain to continue for two days and two nights. After it stopped, the air was no longer damp, but it had become even more stiflingly hot.

The group from Star Luo Imperial Academy left as soon as the rain stopped. Yet they had truly lit an incense stick for the graves behind the village.

After dawdling for a while, Lin Li found that the Saint Er Junior Soul Master Academy uniform, though pretty, was still a little too hot. She did not have any idol baggage, so she casually changed into a black top that exposed her arms. The weather these past few days had indeed been rather muggy.

She turned back for one last look at Soul Town Village. It lay buried amid the enclosing mountains, but...

After walking nearly three li toward Saint Er City, she encountered a tall, thin figure dressed in black leather. The man wore a lecherous expression, his eyes cloudy and vulgar.

After absorbing two soul rings and tempering her body through medicinal baths, Lin Li's physique had already surpassed that of most children her age by far.

At this point, she might not look like a girl of seventeen or eighteen, but she already resembled one of eleven or twelve.

It had to be said that Douluo Continent had a strange setting: the stronger one became, the closer one's physique would approach perfection.

As the owner of a Phoenix Spirit, and with phoenixes being synonymous with splendor and brilliance from beginning to end, not to mention that she also possessed the Crown of Stars...

Her brows and eyes were picturesque, her features naturally delicate, like an uncut jade radiating brilliance. Though unpolished, it already revealed an incomparably dazzling glow.

Lin Li was not truly a six-year-old girl. How could she fail to understand the disgusting, murky gleam in the man's eyes, or what kind of gaze it was?

Before Lin Li could say anything, the man approached with an ill-intentioned smile. His lewd grin and yellow, greasy teeth made him utterly nauseating.

Thinking himself somewhat handsome, he said, "Little sister, where are you going? Do you need your big brother to show you the way?"

That was what he said, but his body was already nearly pressed against hers.

Suppressing her nausea, Lin Li snapped coldly, "Get lost, or I'll pry open your skull!"