Return to the City

Jiede said, "I'll tell you the truth: if you want to refine pills for Root Consolidation, Origin Nourishment, you must use my Mystic Pellet as a foundation.

The path I'm taking will inevitably require vast quantities of medicinal herbs to support my research and experiments, allowing me to accumulate experience.

For now, low-aged heavenly treasures are still enough to meet my needs and can be used on Soul Masters with one or two Soul Rings.

But as a Soul Master's rank rises, the quality of medicinal herbs required will only get higher.

For six-ring Soul Emperors like you, medicinal herbs less than eight or nine hundred years old are completely useless.

As for whatever little schemes you have in mind, I advise you to give them up as soon as possible."

Huo Yan had to admit that Jiede was right. Their clan truly could not afford to support him.

High-aged medicinal herbs were simply too expensive.

They also had clansmen to support. They could not spend all their money on one person.

Seeing everyone fall silent, Jiede continued:

"Swear an oath. What happened today must not be revealed. I don't want too many people learning my secrets yet.

I don't want to be burdened by pill refining every single day in the future."

Everyone swore upon their martial souls that they would never reveal it. Otherwise, their martial souls would suffer a backlash, and they would meet no good end.

"Now that the deal is done, have your senior brother release my Huo Wu," Feng Xiaotian urged.

Jiede glanced at Huo Yan.

"Ol— I'm not low enough to make trouble for a junior like you!" Huo Yan's old face reddened.

Upon hearing his assurance, Jiede nodded at Lu Cheng. Only then did Lu Cheng slowly release his hand.

"Who's your Huo Wu?!"

Huo Wu rubbed her stiff neck and rolled her eyes at Feng Xiaotian.

Feng Xiaotian was not annoyed. "Huo Wu, are you all right?"

"Get lost!"

"Sure!"

Even Jiede could not bear to watch. In the original story, Feng Xiaotian had already been an outrageous bootlicker during the Soul Master Tournament.

Who would have thought—tsk, tsk, tsk—he was actually the kind of hopeless romantic who had been chasing after her since childhood.

The others got goosebumps as well. They could barely stand to look.

"Kid, what do we do now?" Huo Yan asked in a muffled voice.

Jiede shyly held out one hand. "Money, and all kinds of medicinal herbs. The more, the better."

Huo Yan's face twitched. "You'd better not be lying to us, or I definitely won't let you off!"

He looked at the others. "Who's going back to the clan to fetch the goods?"

Huo Wu immediately moved to Jiede's side. "I'm going with him."

Huo Yan looked at Huo Wushuang. "I'll stay behind in case this kid tries anything. Wushuang, you make the trip back."

Huo Wushuang nodded. "All right."

Feng Wuhen had no choice. Feng Xiaotian had long since been following Huo Wu around like a shadow.

"Brother Huo, take care of Xiaotian for me. I'll take Wushuang back."

"Leave him to me."

The group parted ways at the mouth of the valley.

With a Soul Emperor like Huo Yan present, Lu Cheng no longer needed to lead the way so cautiously, and they moved much faster.

In just one day, they arrived at the foot of Azure Wood Ridge.

Jiede and Lu Cheng's baskets were packed to the brim, and they even had a soul beast accompanying them.

Some mercenary groups grew envious and tried to block their path and rob them.

Huo Yan had been holding in a bellyful of anger with nowhere to vent it, and they had walked right into the line of fire.

"You're courting death!"

The seven-man group was wiped out in an instant. The scene was bloody and brutal.

Seeing this, the other mercenary groups hurriedly kept their distance.

Huo Yan smugly shot Jiede a glance. Its meaning was obvious.

It was both a threat and a warning.

Jiede seemed not to understand what he meant. He clapped his hands. "With Senior Huo Yan here as my enforcer, I can rest easy."

Huo Yan's mouth twitched. So he had become a bodyguard?

Afraid that Huo Yan would fly into a rage, Huo Wu quickly grabbed his arm. "Let's go. Hurry and enter the city. I'm exhausted."

"Yeah, yeah. After roughing it in the wind and rain for days, Huo Wu has gotten noticeably thinner."

Feng Xiaotian grabbed Huo Yan's other arm.

Huo Yan felt miserable. This is too hard.

Huo Wu was practically being fooled into becoming an idiot by that boy, and the other little bootlicker was even worse...

Hopeless. This generation of talented juniors was completely hopeless.

Only Huo Wushuang was still somewhat normal.

After several twists and turns, they finally arrived at Lu Cheng Clinic.

Lu Cheng arranged for the three of them to rest in the side rooms of the clinic's rear courtyard.

There had been outsiders on the road, so he could not ask too much. He had been holding back his questions the entire time.

"Junior Brother, are you satisfied with your second soul skill?"

"Very satisfied. It had exactly the effect I wanted," Jiede said with a smile.

"That's good."

Lu Cheng sat in a chair and let out a long sigh. "This journey was truly dangerous."

Jiede said apologetically:

"These past few days, I've made you suffer alongside me, Senior Brother. Trading with Huo Wu and the others was partly out of necessity, and partly because I needed medicinal herbs for pill refining."

"It's nothing. Since you inherited Father's legacy, your medical skills have improved with each passing day."

Lu Cheng waved a hand. "The medicinal herbs in the clinic are limited in quality now, and they're no longer enough for you to use. Come to think of it, that's my responsibility."

"You overstate it, Senior Brother. Oh, right, how is the matter of the Millennium Whale Glue coming along?"

"Soon. In a few more days, several pieces should be shipped back."

"That's wonderful."

Century Whale Glue had lost its effect on Jiede, but Millennium Whale Glue had potent enough medicinal properties that he could still consume it.

Notting City was simply too small to have Millennium Whale Glue, so Lu Cheng could only order it from elsewhere.

"Senior Brother, if there's nothing else, I'll head home first."

"Go on."

Jiede tugged the bear cub by its ear and left the clinic.

Meanwhile, in the Spirit Hunting Forest.

Yu Xiaogang had taken Tang San to obtain his second Soul Ring when they were attacked by a nine-hundred-year Mandrake Snake.

Luo Sanpao was bitten on the backside, and Yu Xiaogang was poisoned as well.

He was currently lying on the ground, groaning in agony.

Tang San swiftly fed him an antidote pill, then performed bloodletting treatment.

But the snake venom was far too potent. The antidote pill could not neutralize it at all.

Tang San was frantic.

It was not that he had no way to cure the venom, but he did not have the proper medicinal herbs on hand.

Tang San's gaze finally fell upon the Mandrake Snake's corpse on the ground.

While pursuing master and disciple, the snake had accidentally crashed into a massive boulder and been knocked unconscious.

In truth, Tang Hao had secretly intervened to cause this.

A nine-hundred-year Mandrake Snake had already exceeded the absorption limit for a second Soul Ring.

Tang San made up his mind.

"Now, I can only try absorbing its Soul Ring and see whether I can obtain a poison-neutralizing soul skill from it."

After enduring immense pain and struggling at the edge of life and death several times, Tang San successfully absorbed the nine-hundred-year Soul Ring.

The fragile nature of Blue Silver Grass improved, and it also gained snake venom.

It could release snake venom through Blue Silver Grass and absorb snake venom as well.

Tang San was very satisfied.

By then, Yu Xiaogang's face had turned black and bruised, like an African's.

Tang San hurriedly detoxified him.

After Yu Xiaogang woke up and learned that Tang San had absorbed a nine-hundred-year Soul Ring, he sat up proudly.

"As expected of my disciple. Absorbing a Soul Ring beyond the limit—how many people on this continent can accomplish such a feat?"

At Jiede's home.

"Xiaode, where did you kidnap this black bear from?"

Jie Yuan curiously tried to pet the bear cub, but it dodged him and even put on a fierce expression.

Jiede said helplessly, "Dad, could you put that more nicely? He can understand human speech."

"You won't let me touch you? Believe it or not, I won't feed you?" Jie Yuan stamped his foot, trying to scare it.

The bear cub did not fall for it at all. Its gaze landed on the freshly made white sugar, and its eyes lit up. With a bear pounce, it hugged a jar of white sugar.

"Damn, my white sugar! That stuff is expensive!"

Jie Yuan was startled. Man and bear began fighting over it.

"Xiaode, get this thing out of here!"

Jiede laughed for quite a while before finally grabbing the bear cub by the scruff of its neck and carrying it away.

"Come on, come on. Let's go inside. I'll show you something nice."