The Unimaginable Power of Ice and Fire

The chubby merchant heard this, turned and saw that it was a child, then said helplessly, "There are ways, but they're all preventative. For example, mix rabbit droppings with Star Anise, grind them up, and scatter them over the fields. Plant the seeds three days later, and it can prevent insect pests. But it's only prevention. If any pests survive it, then it won't work the following year, and there'll be swarms of pests."

"Doesn't that mean this method can only be used once?" Zhou Liang frowned.

"Not exactly. Stop using it in the third year, and by the fourth year, it can prevent insects again." The chubby merchant wore a bitter expression.

"Then whenever this method fails, wouldn't they have to let the pests run wild for a full three years? What about the grain during those three years? If those farmers have poor harvests for three years, they'll probably starve to death!" Zhou Liang's brows knitted together as his heart sank.

"That won't happen. In the second year, they'll drive large numbers of insect-eating birds and frogs to devour the pests, reducing their numbers for the following year. So generally speaking, only the second year will seriously affect the harvest. The third year will still be bad, but there are ways to deal with it. It'll affect the yield, but it won't mean no harvest at all!" The skinny merchant shook his head.

"Is there no way to kill the pests? Like using toxins to kill them?" Zhou Liang looked at the two men.

"Little friend, the method I just mentioned is one for killing larvae. Rabbit droppings mixed with Star Anise are extremely mildly toxic, but they're just enough to kill larvae," said the chubby merchant.

"But that toxicity is far too weak, isn't it? Even larvae have a chance of surviving, and once they do, the method becomes ineffective for three whole generations." Zhou Liang looked at the chubby merchant.

"Grain is for people to eat. If you use toxins that are too strong, how could anyone eat the grain? That's why only such extremely weak toxins can be used. Little friend, stronger poison isn't always better. All right, hurry home. These aren't things you should be worrying about." The skinny merchant shook his head and waved Zhou Liang away.

Zhou Liang glanced at the two of them, then turned and continued onward. But how could poor harvests and rising grain prices not affect those farmers?

"These people haven't considered toxin residue. Not every potent toxin has extremely strong permeability or leaves poison behind for a long time. As long as I can formulate a toxin that is highly lethal but dissipates immediately after a certain period..."

Thinking of this, Zhou Liang looked up at the bustling city and sighed inwardly.

"Perhaps it isn't that no one has thought of such a toxin. Rather, no one has ever considered specifically creating a poison for the lowest-class farmers, helping them obtain better harvests."

"But that's exactly my opportunity. Once I formulate it and prove its effects, I'll be able to earn enough money to support my growth." Zhou Liang paused.

But would those farmers have money to buy poison?

"Ah! It looks like this will be a huge undertaking. I need to bring the cost down to one Copper Soul Coin!" Zhou Liang slowly raised his head to the sky and suddenly shouted.

The people around him jumped in fright. Seeing Zhou Liang acting somewhat crazily, they cursed a few times before hurrying away.

Zhou Liang ignored them, shook his head, and continued toward the academy. Recently, he planned to focus most of his efforts on pharmacology.

He needed to familiarize himself with the toxicity and medicinal properties of all sorts of herbs, then develop the lowest-cost insecticide as quickly as possible.

He hurried back to the academy, then made his way to his master's courtyard.

"Little Liang, if anything feels wrong later, tell me immediately!" Liu Erlong looked at Zhou Liang sternly.

"Okay, Master!"

Zhou Liang nodded and picked up the two prepared herbs in his hands.

The Maple Leaf Grass had been made into a medicinal soup, while the Firestar Pentaleaf had been simmered into a medicinal paste—an edible medicinal paste.

He opened his mouth and poured down the medicinal soup, then immediately swallowed the paste.

After wiping his mouth, he sat where he was and quietly waited.

Liu Erlong stood beside him, watching Zhou Liang with slight concern.

At that moment, Zhou Liang felt an icy force spread from his lungs. He shuddered instantly, and white vapor escaped from his mouth and nose.

But then his heart began pounding violently, his blood seeming to boil as waves of scorching heat spread from his heart throughout his body.

These two forces of ice and heat spread through his body, taking his heart and lungs as their points of origin.

Zhou Liang's face instantly turned bright red, but his mouth and nose gave off a bluish hue, and the breath he exhaled alternated between cold and hot.

[Myriad Poisons Spring Transformation Technique] began operating the instant the cold and hot energies appeared.

A steady stream of highly toxic power was absorbed by the technique, turning into a strange force that slowly merged into his body.

But this force far exceeded Zhou Liang's expectations. It continuously generated the poison of ice and fire.

As the original points of origin, his heart and lungs accumulated vast amounts of toxic power. Even with Zhou Liang's enhanced body, they gradually began to reach their limit.

Pain appeared on Zhou Liang's face. He hurriedly controlled the strange power transformed by [Myriad Poisons Spring Transformation Technique], sending it first to his heart and lungs to help them undergo transformation before the rest of his body.

As his heart and lungs continuously absorbed the strange force, Zhou Liang's pain gradually weakened.

His expression slowly calmed, and Liu Erlong, who had been deeply worried, finally let out a sigh of relief at the sight.

Then, his heart and lungs absorbed great amounts of the ceaseless strange power, undergoing an extraordinary transformation.

Red and blue light began flashing over his heart and lungs, then slowly spread across the organs.

Once the light covered the entire organs, intense changes appeared instantly. His heart became bright red and translucent. Each contraction and expansion flashed with dazzling red light, and a faint crimson glow could even be seen through the skin of his chest.

His lungs, meanwhile, turned icy blue. Every breath that entered them was transformed into icy-blue air carrying a calming power.

The two transformed organs immediately absorbed the most fundamental Icefire Poison power. Then, each used itself as a point of origin to release two transformed, strange forces that began remaking his entire body.

Feeling his body rapidly grow stronger, Zhou Liang slowly let out a breath. What had just happened had truly frightened him. That immense Icefire Poison power had completely exceeded his expectations.

It was no wonder Zhou Liang had been caught off guard. If he had asked around a little more, he would have discovered the unique properties of these two herbs.