Absorbing Poisonous Power

Although these little ones were still in their larval stage, they were, regardless, graded demonic beasts that no common wild animal could compare to. If Luo Mu did not stow them away properly, they might well stir up a bloodbath in Dragon Gate Town, and who knew how many residents would end up as fodder for the White Jade Ants.

Luo Mu had no desire to see such a thing happen, so he felt it was prudent to keep these little ones carefully tucked away, not daring to let them out for air. The spirit beast bags he had purchased in Jinxiu City proved absolutely essential at this moment.

After finishing this, Luo Mu took another item from his storage bag: a clutch of eggs!

This clutch was none other than the Five-Flower Snake eggs he had obtained after exterminating the Five-Flower Snakes on his way to Jinxiu City. Looking closely, there were thirteen eggs in total, and since not much time had passed, none of them were duds.

Luo Mu did not hesitate; he placed the thirteen eggs into the Blood Pact formation and began to incubate them according to his secret techniques. Unlike the White Jade Ants and the Octagonal Spikes, the mature Plum Blossom Snake was only a first-rank peak-level demonic beast, but it matured quickly and the process was short. If he could successfully hatch them, they would be of no small help to him.

This was also the reason why Luo Mu had bought three spirit beast bags back in Jinxiu City. The cost in spirit stones was one thing, but the main reason was that he now possessed three types of demonic insects, and these Plum Blossom Snake eggs certainly counted as one of them.

"Thump, thump!" No sooner had he settled the snake eggs than a knock came at the door.

"Is little Luo home? It's Auntie Zhang." A raspy female voice drifted in from outside—the very same Auntie Zhang he had encountered upon his return.

"Is little Luo really back? Are your eyes failing you, old woman?"

"How could I be mistaken? I chatted with him for a bit. We even agreed that we'd come by to see him later, and he told us to wait for him."

Just as Luo Mu was about to answer, another equally aged female voice sounded from outside. He recognized this one as well; it was the Auntie Wang that Auntie Zhang had mentioned.

The two were of similar age and both in poor health, often coming to his clinic for medicine. Having heard their voices many times, Luo Mu identified them instantly.

"Creeeak!" As the two women stood outside looking puzzled, the clinic door swung open, revealing Luo Mu's slightly smiling face.

"Auntie Zhang, Auntie Wang, you've come quite quickly," Luo Mu said with a smile.

"Little Luo, your clinic doors are shut tight in broad daylight—don't tell me you aren't open for business today?" His appearance brought a sigh of relief to the two elders; their trip hadn't been in vain, and they could get their ailments treated. However, Auntie Wang immediately asked with a look of confusion.

"Haha, Auntie Wang, what are you saying? If I don't open for business, I'd starve to death," Luo Mu joked, laughing it off.

"You two are here for a check-up, right? Come on in," Luo Mu said before they could speak, stepping aside to clear the path.

The two elders nodded and hurried into the clinic. Luo Mu took the opportunity to throw the doors wide open; after being closed for nearly a month, the clinic was finally back in business.

After the time it takes to eat a meal, Auntie Zhang and Auntie Wang walked out of the clinic with smiles on their faces. Just then, a sickly-looking middle-aged man passed by. Seeing the doors open, he was overjoyed and stepped right inside.

By midday, the entire town knew that Luo Mu's clinic had reopened. Every resident feeling under the weather flocked to his doors, and business was booming.

It was no surprise; his was the only clinic in the entire town, so it was bound to be busy.

By the time the sun set and the moon climbed into the sky, the last patient had finally left. Luo Mu wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead and looked at the hundred or so fragmented spirit stones on the counter, shaking his head with a sigh.

After a full day of work, his income was only a little over one low-grade spirit stone. It wasn't just his own mouth he had to feed anymore; there were several others waiting, and though they looked small, their appetites were massive. How could these few stones sustain them?

Luo Mu felt utterly helpless. With a bitter smile, he pushed the thought aside—he would cross that bridge when he came to it. For now, he had more important things to do.

With the doors bolted shut, Luo Mu retreated to his room. He checked the thirteen Plum Blossom Snake eggs in the Blood Pact formation, and seeing no reaction, he sat cross-legged on the floor and took out four poisonous herbs.

A faint black mist shrouded the herbs; one was slightly more potent than the others, while the other three were roughly the same.

He had gathered these on his way to Jinxiu City. The three with thinner mist were first-rank mid-grade, while the others were first-rank low-grade.

The quality of a poisonous herb could be judged by the density of the mist it emitted; the more toxic the herb, the thicker the mist. However, not all poisonous mists were black; they could vary in color.

Luo Mu didn't pay much attention to the nuances. Without ceremony, he grabbed a first-rank low-grade herb and shoved it into his mouth, chewing lightly.

As his teeth ground the herb, the juices flowed.

Bitter—incredibly bitter! That was the only sensation he had. Fortunately, his willpower was extraordinary; despite the discomfort, he didn't spit it out. With a grimace, he gritted his teeth and swallowed the herb in one go.

Moments after it hit his stomach, he felt a searing, fiery pain in his dantian that twisted his features. Yet, this state filled him with joy. The more painful it was, the more potent the poison, and Luo Mu was only too happy for that.

This was, perhaps, the so-called "painful pleasure."

It's a pity I don't have a recipe to refine these into pills; otherwise, the toxicity would be on a whole new level! Luo Mu muttered to himself while circulating his energy to absorb the poison.

In his view, consuming the herbs directly was convenient but wasteful. It was not only slower to absorb, but it also failed to maximize the poison's potential.

As a true miser, Luo Mu felt like his heart was bleeding, but he had no choice—he lacked the proper recipes.

An hour later, the look of agony on his face finally faded. After another quarter-hour, his expression returned to its usual calm.

Opening his eyes slowly, Luo Mu sighed, "Graded poisonous herbs are truly incomparable to ordinary poisons. Just one herb has surpassed everything I've taken before."

Clearly feeling the increase in his Poison Spirit Power, he felt that the poisons he and his father had concocted were nothing but trash; all of them combined couldn't compare to this single first-rank low-grade herb.

After a short pause to fully absorb the residual energy, he picked up the second herb...

Throughout the night, all four herbs were consumed and their poison fully absorbed.

By the time the last trace of energy was assimilated, the sky was beginning to brighten. Luo Mu, who hadn't closed his eyes all night, showed no signs of fatigue; instead, his eyes were bright and he felt incredibly refreshed.

Having consumed the four herbs, he could clearly feel his Poison Spirit Power strengthening, which filled him with joy and gave him more confidence in his cultivation path.

Where did this confidence come from? Naturally, from the ninety-six Snake Eye Fruits and the forty-eight remaining stalks of Ink Crow Grass in his storage bag.

The Snake Eye Fruit was a first-rank high-grade poisonous fruit, and the Ink Crow Grass was a first-rank peak-grade herb. With such a supply, he wouldn't face a shortage for a long time.

Next, he planned to consume the Snake Eye Fruit. As for the peak-grade Ink Crow Grass, he didn't yet have the courage to touch it while only at the second level of Qi Refining.

If a low-grade herb caused him an hour of agony, what would the peak-grade Ink Crow Grass do? He couldn't guess, but he was certain he couldn't handle it yet.

In truth, he didn't even want to rush the Snake Eye Fruit, as his strength was still too low; if he couldn't absorb the poison, the backlash would be excruciating.

But he had no choice—the Snake Eye Fruit was the lowest-grade poison he had left. Even knowing it would be painful, he couldn't afford to hesitate if he wanted to improve.

To rise above others, one must endure pain. Without sacrifice, where would the harvest come from?

For a long time after, Luo Mu opened his clinic during the day and spent his nights consuming Snake Eye Fruits, struggling to absorb their poison.

The Snake Eye Fruit lived up to its reputation as a first-rank high-grade poison; its potency was agonizing. Furthermore, the energy contained within a single small fruit was immense. It took him an entire night to fully absorb just one, which showed that its toxicity was no laughing matter.

Of course, the rewards were proportional to the effort. As he suffered through the nights, the Poison Spirit Power in his dantian grew at a terrifying rate. This was the motivation that kept him going through the pain without a second thought!