Just from the way he'd raised his voice, it was obvious that Zhou You was ninety-nine percent certain he had no sincere intention of becoming the Old Daoist's disciple.
But the Old Daoist didn't mind having his head held, and directed Zhou You to pick up the other two heads.
"As you can see, these two skulls are already empty. One contains a demon, the other a ghost. They're just right for mixing together to make poison."
"First, that Dead Infant Yin Fetus. It was formed from my brain matter. You can cut open its internal organs and take one portion each of its yin heart, yin liver, yin gallbladder, and yin lungs. Don't take anything else. Then grind them into powder..."
"Next, that Ring-headed Centipede. It ate everything in my brain, leaving only one eye and one tongue for communication. You can break through its skin and take its flesh..."
"Then, take one qian of each... and mix them together..."
"Next..."
"..."
"..."
A few minutes later, a very bizarre-looking bowl of something appeared before Zhou You.
At first glance, it looked like a heap of sludge, but it also seemed to have the consistency of a liquid. It was as black as ink, and every so often, it churned like a living thing.
The Old Daoist nodded, neither approving nor disapproving.
"Not bad. For a beginner, you could even call it passable. When many of my disciples did this for the first time, they couldn't mix it properly. Just not being scared out of their minds was already a fine result. So—"
He pursed his lips and said,
"—drink half of this first."
Zhou You's smug expression froze at once.
Pointing at the thing that looked bizarre no matter how he saw it, he turned and demanded,
"Come