Absorbing Poison

Although these little fellows were still in their larval stage, they were demonic beasts with ranks, after all—not something ordinary beasts could compare with. If Luo Mu didn't properly secure them, they might unleash a bloody storm across Dragon Gate Town. Who knew how many residents would end up as food in the White Jade Ants' bellies?

Luo Mu didn't want to see that happen, so he decided it was best to keep the little fellows safely stored away. He didn't dare let them out to get some air. The Spirit Beast Bag he had bought in Jinxiu City was absolutely invaluable now.

After taking care of everything, Luo Mu took something else out of his Storage Bag. It was a nest of eggs!

They were the Five-Flower Snake eggs he had obtained after killing the Five-Flower Snake on the road to Jinxiu City. Looking closely, there were thirteen eggs in all. Since he hadn't had them for long, none had died.

Luo Mu didn't hesitate. He placed all thirteen eggs in the Blood Pact Formation and began incubating them according to the secret method. Unlike the White Jade Ants and the Octagonal Spike, the Plum Blossom Snake's mature form was only a first-grade, peak-tier demonic beast. However, Plum Blossom Snakes matured quickly, so the process took less time. If he successfully hatched them, they could still be a great help to Luo Mu right now.

That was why Luo Mu had bought three Spirit Beast Bags in Jinxiu City. The number of spirit stones he had was one reason, but the main reason was that he now had three kinds of demonic insects in his possession—and the Plum Blossom Snake eggs counted as one of them.

"Knock, knock!" Just as he had settled the Plum Blossom Snake eggs, someone knocked at the door.

"Little Luo, are you home? It's Auntie Zhang." An elderly woman's voice came from outside. From the sound of it, it was the very Auntie Zhang Luo Mu had run into when he returned.

"Did Little Luo really come back? Maybe your old eyes are playing tricks on you."

"How could I be mistaken? I even chatted with Little Luo for a while. And we agreed we'd come find him later, so he should wait for us."

Just as Luo Mu was about to answer, Auntie Zhang's voice was followed by another elderly woman's. The voice was familiar, too—it belonged to Auntie Wang, the woman Auntie Zhang had mentioned.

The two were about the same age, and both were in poor health. They often came to Luo Mu's clinic to get medicine and treatment, so he knew their voices well and recognized them at once.

"Creak!" Just as Auntie Zhang and Auntie Wang were looking confused, the clinic door opened, revealing Luo Mu's slightly smiling face.

"Auntie Zhang, Auntie Wang, you got here fast," Luo Mu said with a smile.

"Little Luo, it's the middle of the day, yet your clinic's doors are tightly shut. Were you planning not to do business today?" Seeing Luo Mu put the two women at ease; at least they hadn't made the trip for nothing, and there was hope of getting treatment. But Auntie Wang quickly asked, looking puzzled.

"Hehe, Auntie Wang, what are you saying? If I didn't open for business, I'd starve to death," Luo Mu said with a chuckle, then joked.

"You two came to see a doctor, right? Come on in." Before either woman could say a word, Luo Mu stepped aside to clear the way and ushered them in.

The two nodded and hurried into the clinic. Luo Mu, meanwhile, swung the door wide open. After nearly a month of being closed, his clinic was finally open again.

After about the time it took to eat a meal, Auntie Zhang and Auntie Wang left the clinic with smiles on their faces. Just then, a middle-aged man with a sickly look passed by Luo Mu's clinic. When he saw the doors standing open, he was overjoyed and immediately went inside.

By midday, everyone in town knew that Luo Mu's clinic had reopened. Residents who felt even a little under the weather streamed in, and business was booming.

That was hardly surprising. Luo Mu's was the only clinic in the entire town. It couldn't help but do well.

Only when the sun had set and the moon had risen did the last patients leave. Luo Mu wiped the sweat from his brow, then looked at the more than one hundred pieces of spirit stone on the counter and sighed.

He had worked all day and earned only a little over a hundred pieces of spirit stone—that was, just a bit more than one Low-grade Spirit Stone. And now it wasn't just Luo Mu who needed to eat; several other mouths were waiting to be fed. They might look small, but they had quite the appetite. How could this little bit of spirit stone keep them alive?

Luo Mu felt utterly helpless. He gave a bitter smile, then put the matter out of his mind. He'd take things one step at a time. He had more important things to do now.

After firmly closing the door, Luo Mu went to his room and examined the thirteen Plum Blossom Snake eggs in the Blood Pact Formation. Seeing that they showed no reaction, he sat cross-legged on the floor and took out several poisonous herbs, laying them before him. He counted carefully: there were four.

A faint black mist enveloped the four poisonous herbs. One was surrounded by slightly denser mist, while the other three were about the same.

Luo Mu had gathered these four poisonous herbs on his way to Jinxiu City. The one with the less dense mist was a first-grade, mid-tier poisonous herb; the other three were first-grade, low-tier herbs.

The quality of a poisonous herb could be judged by the density of the mist rising from its surface. The more potent the poison, the denser the mist. However, not all poisonous herbs emitted black mist; some gave off mist of other colors.

The quality of these four herbs was obvious at a glance. But Luo Mu didn't pay much attention to that. Without the slightest fuss, he grabbed a first-grade, low-tier poisonous herb and put it in his mouth, chewing gently.

As Luo Mu's teeth ground the herb, its juices spread through his mouth.

Bitter—unbelievably bitter! That was all Luo Mu could think after chewing it to a pulp. Fortunately, he had iron will. Though he was miserable, he didn't spit it out. His face turned rigid as he clenched his teeth and swallowed the herb in one go.

Not long after the herb went down, Luo Mu felt a sensation in his body. A burning pain flared in his dantian, twisting his face out of shape. Yet this reaction filled him with delight. The more it hurt, the more potent the herb had to be. Of course he was thrilled.

This was probably what people meant by finding joy in pain!

It's a shame I don't have a pill formula to refine these poisonous herbs into poison pills. Their potency would definitely increase another level! Luo Mu thought as he circulated his cultivation technique to absorb the poisonous qi.

In Luo Mu's view, swallowing these poisonous herbs directly was convenient, but wasteful. Not only was absorption slower, he also couldn't draw out their full potency.

As a self-proclaimed miser, Luo Mu felt as though his heart were bleeding. But there was nothing he could do. He simply didn't have a suitable pill formula.

An hour later, the pain on Luo Mu's face finally began to fade. Another quarter of an hour passed before his expression returned completely to normal.

He slowly opened his eyes, his face full of emotion. "Ranked poisonous herbs really can't be compared with ordinary poison. I've taken just one, and it's already surpassed all the poison I took before."

He could clearly feel the Poison Spirit Power in his dantian growing. This made Luo Mu feel that all the poison his father had refined was garbage. No matter how much he had taken, it couldn't compare to a single first-grade, low-tier poisonous herb.

After pausing for a little while and absorbing all the poisonous power remaining in his body, Luo Mu picked up the second poisonous herb...

Over the course of one night, Luo Mu swallowed all four poisonous herbs: three first-grade, low-tier herbs and one first-grade, mid-tier herb. He absorbed every last bit of their poisonous power.

By the time he had absorbed the final trace, the sky was slowly growing light. Luo Mu hadn't slept all night, yet he showed no sign of fatigue. On the contrary, his eyes were bright, and he looked full of energy.

After taking the four poisonous herbs, Luo Mu could clearly feel that the Poison Spirit Power in his dantian had grown considerably. This made him very happy, and even more confident about his path of cultivation.

Where did Luo Mu's confidence come from? Of course it came from the ninety-six Snake Eye Fruits and the forty-eight stalks of Ink Crow Grass still in his Storage Bag.

The Snake Eye Fruit was a first-grade, high-tier poisonous fruit, while the Ink Crow Grass was a first-grade, peak-tier poisonous herb. He had plenty of both, so at least for a long time, Luo Mu wouldn't have to worry about running short of poisonous herbs.

Next, Luo Mu planned to take a first-grade, high-tier poisonous fruit: the Snake Eye Fruit. As for the first-grade, peak-tier Ink Crow Grass, Luo Mu, who was only at the second level of Qi Refining, didn't have the nerve to take it yet.

Even taking a first-grade, low-tier poisonous herb had left Luo Mu in agony for a full hour. What would the first-grade, peak-tier Ink Crow Grass do to him? He couldn't guess exactly, but he was certain he probably couldn't handle it yet.

Truthfully, Luo Mu didn't want to take the Snake Eye Fruit so soon, either. His cultivation was still too low, and he might suffer a backlash from its poisonous power. If his dantian couldn't absorb it all, he'd be in for a world of pain.

But he had no choice. The lowest-grade poisonous herbs he had left were the Snake Eye Fruits. Even knowing they would cause him pain, Luo Mu couldn't worry about that when he was eager to improve his strength.

If you wanted to rise above the rest, pain was unavoidable. Without sacrifice, how could you reap the rewards?

For a long time after that, Luo Mu opened his clinic during the day. At night, he took Snake Eye Fruits in his room and worked hard to absorb their poisonous power.

The Snake Eye Fruit lived up to its reputation as a first-grade, mid-tier poisonous fruit. Its potency was so fierce that Luo Mu could barely stand it. And although each little fruit was tiny, it contained a tremendous amount of poisonous power. Luo Mu could only fully absorb one fruit per night, which showed just how potent it was. This was no joke.

Of course, sacrifice and reward went hand in hand. Each night, when Luo Mu was suffering as though he were dying, the Poison Spirit Power in his dantian grew at a frightening pace. That was what gave him the drive to keep going without hesitation, even through the pain!