Ingesting Poison, Poison Spirit Power

Chapter 7: Ingesting Poison, Poison Spirit Power

The gas within his dantian, while not spirit energy, possessed the distinct qualities of it. As for what this green gas actually was, Luo Mu had a few guesses of his own.

A cockroach happened to crawl onto the table where Luo Mu was sitting. Seeing this, Luo Mu raised an eyebrow. Just as he was thinking of proving his hypothesis, a living test subject had delivered itself to him.

With a gentle wave of his hand, the pale green gas enveloped the cockroach on the table. In the blink of an eye, this legendary "indestructible" pest was gone, leaving behind only its stiff, lifeless shell.

"It really is as I thought; this green gas is highly toxic!" Luo Mu retracted the green gas into his dantian, his face full of bewilderment.

Having studied medicine for many years, Luo Mu was quite sensitive to anything containing potent toxins. When he first summoned the green gas from his dantian, he had sensed its intense toxicity. However, since it concerned his own body, Luo Mu dared not be careless or jump to conclusions, choosing instead to test it on a cockroach.

This test confirmed his suspicions.

What had gathered in his dantian was not spirit energy, but a mysterious, toxic gas. Having never heard of or read about such a bizarre phenomenon in any book, Luo Mu could not help but wear a solemn expression as he fell into deep thought.

Normally, the successful appearance of spirit energy in one's dantian would be a cause for great celebration. But since this was poison rather than spirit energy, Luo Mu was forced to be cautious.

Judging by how it had instantly killed the cockroach, the toxicity of the gas in his dantian was fierce. Luo Mu's concern was whether this poison would affect his own body, whether it would leave behind any lasting side effects, or if the poison would harm him from within.

Carrying these worries, Luo Mu summoned the green gas from his dantian once more and began to study it.

After a long while, Luo Mu retracted the gas from his palm, his expression shifting between uncertainty and doubt. Through his research, he had reached a minor conclusion: the green gas would not harm him personally. As for whether the poison would have any long-term effects on his body, Luo Mu dared not make any rash claims; he would only know when the time came.

Since he couldn't reach a definitive conclusion, Luo Mu stopped worrying about it, deciding to cross that bridge when he came to it. He had dreamed of gathering spirit energy in his dantian, and while what he had gathered wasn't spirit energy, it was a mysterious poison. Something was better than nothing, wasn't it? Besides, this poison possessed a lethal intensity that spirit energy lacked, which made it sound even more formidable.

As for whether this poison could allow him to cultivate like a normal practitioner and become a superior being, that remained for Luo Mu to discover himself.

According to the methods described in his books, after several attempts, Luo Mu was finally certain that this green poison could be manipulated just like spirit energy, with the added benefit of its lethal toxicity. This realization thrilled him; the worries he had felt moments ago about potential side effects were now completely cast to the back of his mind.

Practitioners collectively referred to the energy gathered in the dantian as "spirit power," so Luo Mu decided to name his green poison "Poison Spirit Power." It sounded quite decent.

After settling this matter, Luo Mu turned his attention to another question.

"Why did I inexplicably come to possess this mysterious Poison Spirit Power?" Luo Mu asked himself in confusion, sinking into deep contemplation once again.

Outside, the heavy rain continued to fall, the gale still howled, and the thunder grew increasingly deafening. Yet, Luo Mu, deep within his clinic, heard none of it, for all his focus was now fixed on the origin of the Poison Spirit Power in his dantian.

An hour passed in silence as Luo Mu pondered. Various theories surfaced in his mind, only to be dismissed one by one. Finally, he attributed the cause to the Heartbreak Pill that Xiao Ling'er had forced him to swallow.

"Could that poison pill be what made me like this?" Luo Mu muttered to himself, his brow furrowed.

In truth, even he found it hard to believe. If word of this got out, anyone would doubt the truth of it. With a sigh, he pushed the doubts from his mind and began to absorb the surrounding heaven and earth spirit energy.

Now that he had successfully gathered Poison Spirit Power in his dantian, Luo Mu wanted to see if his dantian could also gather spirit energy.

Thin wisps of spirit energy drifted in from all directions, light and airy like mist, seeping into his body. Luo Mu kept his eyes tightly shut, his face showing a hint of tension and unease.

A quarter of an hour later, Luo Mu opened his eyes, a look of deep disappointment on his face. "Sigh! Still unable to gather spirit energy!"

After the test, Luo Mu discovered that his dantian remained the same as before; as soon as the spirit energy entered, it vanished without a trace. This left him deeply disheartened.

He had hoped that the presence of Poison Spirit Power might have changed his body, but reality had rudely awakened him from his dream.

"Still nothing! How can this be?" A look of vacillation appeared on his face. Having just found hope only to face disappointment again, Luo Mu felt incredibly dejected.

Driven by his unwillingness to give up, he tried several more times, but the result was always the same, causing his heart to grow cold.

"I've tried every method and it still doesn't work. If my dantian can't gather spirit energy, why is there Poison Spirit Power inside? Wait... Poison Spirit Power? That's it! The Poison Spirit Power! How could I have forgotten it?" The disappointed Luo Mu suddenly thought of something. His face lit up, and he darted toward the medicine cabinet.

A short while later, Luo Mu returned to the table, which now held two small porcelain bottles.

One bottle contained the poison Seven-Step Fall, and the other held its antidote.

Dragon Gate Town was surrounded by mountains on all sides. While the scenery was beautiful, the number of wild beasts was terrifying, and these beasts were the primary source of meat for the town's residents.

However, wild beasts were ferocious. If an ordinary person was careless, they would be injured or even lose their lives. Therefore, for the sake of safety, the residents of Dragon Gate Town generally chose to use poison.

By coating bait with poison, they could easily take down a beast. As long as the internal organs of the poisoned beast were removed and discarded within a certain time, the meat remained edible. While this might not seem very safe or hygienic, the common folk living in these mountains didn't care.

As long as there was meat to eat and it wouldn't kill them, that was enough.

The Seven-Step Fall on Luo Mu's table was a staple for the residents of Dragon Gate Town when hunting in the mountains. Not only was it fiercely toxic, but it was also colorless and odorless, making it one of the most convenient poisons for baiting beasts.

Luo Mu's clinic sold this Seven-Step Fall, and both he and his father knew how to concoct it. Besides Seven-Step Fall, the clinic sold other poisons as well.

However, while those poisons were potent, they were vastly inferior to the Heartbreak Pill. The Heartbreak Pill was a graded poison, whereas the poisons from the clinic were merely common grade; the two could not be mentioned in the same breath.

Looking at the Seven-Step Fall on the table, a flicker of hesitation crossed Luo Mu's face before it was replaced by determination. He opened the bottle, poured a pill into his palm, tilted his head back, and swallowed the Seven-Step Fall!

When residents hunted beasts, they would dissolve the pill in water and coat the bait with it, allowing them to prepare several pieces. Yet, Luo Mu had swallowed an entire pill in one go!

After the Seven-Step Fall went down, Luo Mu closed his eyes and began to observe his dantian internally. Time passed slowly.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the effects of the Seven-Step Fall kicked in. A look of pain crossed Luo Mu's face, but in an instant, his expression shifted again—the pain was now mixed with undisguised ecstasy!

As the poison took effect, the Poison Spirit Power in his dantian had actually grown stronger! It was very subtle, but under his careful observation, he had caught it.

Furthermore, the agony lasted only for a brief moment before he returned to normal; the poison had not killed him. This was the source of his ecstasy.

Filled with joy, Luo Mu swallowed another Seven-Step Fall to confirm whether the poison could truly increase his Poison Spirit Power. Only by confirming it again would he be truly at ease.

The result was exactly as he had expected: this pill caused the Poison Spirit Power in his dantian to grow a little more. Though it was only a tiny amount, it was enough to thrill him.

Following this, Luo Mu took out every poison in the clinic, filling the entire table, and consumed them one by one. By the end, he had reached a firm conclusion: he could increase his Poison Spirit Power by consuming poison!

It sounded unbelievable, but it was the truth!

Throughout the night, Luo Mu did only one thing: he rummaged through every poison in the clinic, not even sparing the aged, dusty stock that had been sitting there for who knows how many years.

Afterward, Luo Mu swallowed those poisons one by one, as if he were simply eating a meal!

The dark night passed, and the sky was now bright. The heavy rain throughout the night had filled the potholes on the ground with water, where a few leaves drifted on the surface. After the rainfall, the air in the small town felt incredibly crisp, refreshing anyone who took a light breath.

At the entrance of the town, Father Xiao and Mother Xiao waved incessantly toward the distance, tears shimmering in their eyes as they watched the two figures gradually fade from view, their faces etched with reluctance.

For Xiao Ling'er, today marked a new beginning; from this moment on, she would step into a brand-new world! Learning cultivation arts, entering high society—who knew if she would ever return to take another look at this Dragon Gate Town where mortals dwelled.

For Luo Mu, today was likewise a new beginning!