Taking Poison, Poison Spirit Power

Chapter 7: Taking Poison, Poison Spirit Power

Although the gas in his dantian wasn't spiritual energy, it had some of its properties. As for what exactly this green gas was, Luo Mu had a few guesses.

A cockroach crawled onto the table where Luo Mu was sitting, as if guided by fate. His eyebrows lifted. He'd just been about to test whether his guess was right, and now a live specimen had arrived.

With a gentle wave of his hand, pale green gas enveloped the cockroach on the table. In the blink of an eye, the supposedly indestructible little pest was dead, leaving behind only its stiff body.

"So it really is as I thought. This green gas contains a deadly poison!" Luo Mu withdrew the green gas into his dantian and remarked with a strange expression.

Having studied medicine for many years, Luo Mu was fairly sensitive to poisonous substances. When he summoned the green gas from his dantian, he had immediately sensed its potent toxicity. But since this concerned his own body, he hadn't dared be careless or jump to conclusions. Instead, he'd tested it on a cockroach.

The test had confirmed his suspicions.

What had gathered in his dantian wasn't spiritual energy, but a mysterious poisonous gas. He'd never heard of anything like it, nor had he ever read about such a bizarre phenomenon in any book. His expression grew solemn, and he sank into deep thought.

Normally, successfully forming spiritual energy in one's dantian was cause for great joy. But what Luo Mu had wasn't spiritual energy at all—it was poisonous gas. He had no choice but to be cautious.

Judging by how quickly it had killed the cockroach, the poison in Luo Mu's dantian was potent. His main concern was whether it would affect his body, leave him with some kind of lasting harm, or even poison him.

With those worries in mind, Luo Mu summoned the green gas from his dantian again and began studying it.

After a while, Luo Mu withdrew the green gas from his palm, his expression shifting between uncertainty and resolve. His research had yielded one small conclusion: the green gas wouldn't harm him directly. As for whether the poison might affect his body in other ways, he didn't dare draw any conclusions. He'd have to wait and see.

Since he couldn't figure it out, Luo Mu couldn't be bothered to keep investigating. The boat would find its way to the bridge. He'd dreamed of gathering spiritual energy in his dantian, and now, while what he'd gathered wasn't spiritual energy, it was mysterious poisonous gas. Having something was better than having nothing, wasn't it? Besides, the gas contained a deadly poison that spiritual energy didn't. It seemed like it might even be more potent than spiritual energy.

Whether the poison could help Luo Mu cultivate like spiritual energy, and become a cultivator who stood head and shoulders above others, was something he'd have to discover for himself.

Following the instructions in his books, Luo Mu tested it repeatedly and finally confirmed that he could indeed use the green poisonous gas the same way he would spiritual energy. It also carried a deadly poison. This sent him into a frenzy of excitement. He'd just been worrying about whether the gas might harm his body, but now those concerns had all been tossed to the back of his mind.

Cultivators called the energy gathered in their dantian spiritual power. Luo Mu named his green poisonous gas Poison Spirit Power. It had a nice ring to it.

After dealing with that, Luo Mu turned his attention to another question.

"Why did I suddenly end up with this mysterious Poison Spirit Power?" he wondered, sinking into thought once more.

Outside, the rain was still pouring, the wind still howling, and the thunder growing ever louder. Yet Luo Mu, inside the clinic, hadn't heard any of it. All his attention was focused on where the Poison Spirit Power in his dantian had come from.

Luo Mu thought about it for an hour. All kinds of theories surfaced in his mind, only to be rejected one after another. In the end, he traced the cause back to the Heartbreak Pill Xiao Ling'er had made him swallow.

"Could that poison pill have turned me into what I am now?" Luo Mu muttered to himself, furrowing his brows.

Even he found it hard to believe. If word got out, who wouldn't doubt whether it was true? With no other choice, Luo Mu pushed his doubts aside and began absorbing the spiritual energy around him instead.

Now that Poison Spirit Power had gathered in his dantian, Luo Mu wanted to see whether his dantian could also gather spiritual energy.

Thin wisps of spiritual energy flowed in from every direction, like smoke, drifting lightly into Luo Mu's body. His eyes were tightly shut, and his face showed a hint of tension and unease.

After a quarter of an hour, Luo Mu opened his tightly shut eyes, deep disappointment showing in them. "Sigh! I still can't gather spiritual energy!"

The test had shown that his dantian was still the same as before. As soon as spiritual energy entered it, it disappeared without a trace, leaving Luo Mu bitterly disappointed.

He'd thought that since his dantian could gather Poison Spirit Power, perhaps something about his body had changed. But reality had still woken him from his beautiful dream.

"Still no good! How can this be?" His face showed both hope and apprehension. He'd only just found hope, and now he was faced with disappointment. It was a miserable feeling.

Unwilling to give up, Luo Mu tried several more times. Each time, the result was the same, and his heart sank completely.

"I've tried everything, but it still doesn't work. If my dantian still can't gather spiritual energy, then why is there Poison Spirit Power inside it? Wait... Poison Spirit Power? That's it! How could I forget?" Luo Mu's face had been full of disappointment, but the realization made his expression brighten. He sprang to the medicine cabinet in a single stride.

A short while later, Luo Mu returned to the table. Now, two small porcelain bottles sat in front of him.

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

Dragon Gate Town was surrounded by mountains. The scenery was beautiful, but there were also so many wild beasts that the number was frightening. These beasts were the main source of meat for the town's residents.

But wild beasts were fierce. When ordinary people faced them, one wrong move could leave them injured or even cost them their lives. So, to stay safe, the residents of Dragon Gate Town generally chose to use poison.

They coated bait with poison, making it easy to catch a beast. As long as they removed and discarded the poisoned animal's entrails within a certain amount of time, its meat could still be eaten. It might not seem particularly safe or hygienic, but the ordinary folk who lived in the mountains around Dragon Gate Town didn't mind.

As long as they had meat to eat, and it didn't poison them to death, that was enough.

The Seven-Step Fall on Luo Mu's table was an essential item for Dragon Gate Town's residents when they ventured into the mountains to poison wild beasts. Not only was it potent, it was also colorless and odorless. Coated on bait, it was one of the most convenient poisons for killing wild beasts.

The clinic run by Luo Mu's family sold this kind of Seven-Step Fall, and both Luo Mu and his father knew how to prepare it. Their clinic also sold other poisons.

Although these poisons were potent, they were nowhere near as powerful as the Heartbreak Pill. The Heartbreak Pill was a ranked poison, while the poisons sold at Luo Mu's family clinic were merely ordinary. The two were incomparable.

Luo Mu's hesitation flickered across his face as he looked at the Seven-Step Fall on the table, then gave way to resolve. He opened the bottle and poured one pill into his palm. Then he raised his hand, tipped back his head, and swallowed the Seven-Step Fall whole!

When the residents poisoned wild beasts, they dissolved a pill of Seven-Step Fall in water before applying it to bait. That way, they could coat several pieces of bait. But Luo Mu had just swallowed an entire pill in one go!

After swallowing the Seven-Step Fall, Luo Mu closed his eyes and carefully examined the inside of his dantian. Time passed slowly.

After a short while, the Seven-Step Fall took effect. A pained expression appeared on Luo Mu's face, but almost immediately, it changed again. Unconcealed delight mingled with his pain!

As the Seven-Step Fall took effect, the Poison Spirit Power in his dantian had grown slightly stronger. The change was extremely subtle, but Luo Mu had been watching so closely that he noticed it.

What's more, when the poison took effect, Luo Mu had felt unwell for only a brief moment before recovering as usual. It hadn't taken his life. That was precisely why he was so ecstatic.

Still delighted, Luo Mu swallowed another pill of Seven-Step Fall, wanting to confirm that the poison really could increase the Poison Spirit Power in his dantian. Only by confirming it again could he feel truly at ease.

The result was just as Luo Mu had expected. This pill of Seven-Step Fall had once again increased the Poison Spirit Power in his dantian by a little. Even though the increase was slight, it was enough to thrill him.

After that, Luo Mu brought out every poison in the clinic and covered the entire table with them, swallowing each one in turn. At last, he reached a firm conclusion: he could now increase the Poison Spirit Power in his dantian by taking poison!

It might sound unbelievable, but it was true!

Luo Mu spent the entire night doing one thing: digging out every poison in the clinic, even old stock that had been sitting there for who knew how many years.

Then, as if eating a meal, he swallowed every last one of those poisons!

Night passed, and dawn broke. The heavy rain had filled the potholes in the ground with water, and a few leaves floated on the surface. After the downpour, the town's air felt incredibly fresh. A single breath was enough to leave anyone feeling clear-headed and refreshed.

At the town gate, Father Xiao and Mother Xiao waved toward the distance again and again, tears glimmering in their eyes. As they watched the two figures gradually disappear, unwillingness showed on both their faces.

For Xiao Ling'er, today would be a new beginning. From now on, she would enter an entirely new world! She would learn the arts of cultivation and enter high society. Who knew whether she would ever return to Dragon Gate Town, where ordinary people lived, even for a visit?

For Luo Mu, today was also a new beginning!