A Wager with the Little Medicine Boy

"Long Xuan." At this moment, the Little Apothecary approached with a serious expression. Just as Long Xuan thought he was also after his roasted meat, the boy leaned closer and whispered, "Do you have any discarded Spirit-Gathering Pill?"

The Little Apothecary looked at him intently. Through his frantic consumption of useless pills, he had already Peak Spirit-Gathering Stage stage, just one step away from the Marrow Cleansing Stage.

However, with the Earth Spiritual Power now scarce, all Gu cultivators can only break through by relying on the power of pills, so he also has to prepare for the matter of the Spirit-Gathering Pill.

Upon hearing this, Long Xuan glanced at him in surprise. He wasn't stupid; he had already guessed that the Little Apothecary planned to use the Cockroach Gu's immunity to poison to get the medicinal power of the useless pill for a breakthrough.

It has to be said that he really has an amazing imagination and unique ideas. This is indeed a pretty good idea; his imagination is almost as wild as mine.

Using the Cockroach Gu to consume waste pills is definitely a good idea, but the medicinal power of waste pills is far inferior to that of successful pills.

Even if the Little Apothecary wanted to use the medicinal power of the Spirit-Gathering Pill for free, the possibility of successfully breaking through would be extremely slim.

So Long Xuan leaned closer to his ear and whispered, "I'm telling you, my success rate in alchemy is always one hundred percent. Where am I supposed to get you any defective pills? Aren't you making things difficult for me?"

The Little Apothecary's lips twitched slightly as he stared at him speechlessly.

Is it possible for someone to have a 100% success rate in alchemy? Does he have to boast to survive? I've seen people who boast, but this is the first time I've seen someone boast like this. In their village, is boasting tax-free?

He's really talking big, but he's just bragging on the ground. He's really gone too far with his boasting.

The Little Apothecary, of course, couldn't believe such a thing; he simply thought Long Xuan was bragging.

"Alright! Never mind. I already guessed you were an Alchemist when you bought my Pill Furnace, and you just mentioned the Spirit-Gathering Pill Spirit-Gathering Pill to Old Daoist Li, so I have reason to suspect you have one."

"How about this, we make a bet: you give me three Spirit-Gathering Pill, and I'll give you my share of this treasure hunt."

"None of us know what's inside that cave abode. If my share of the treasure is worth more than three Spirit-Gathering Pill, then you've made a profit."

"If my share of the treasure is worth less than three Spirit-Gathering Pill, then I've made a profit."

"None of us can hold anyone accountable afterward. Are you willing to bet?" the Little Apothecary whispered to Long Xuan.

Long Xuan stroked his chin and glanced at him again in surprise. At this moment, he was truly impressed by this Little Apothecary.

This Little Apothecary is truly exceptionally clever. Not only did he notice the details that I possessed the Spirit-Gathering Pill, but he also learned how to get something for nothing.

However, he was genuinely interested in this bet.

What was inside that cave abode was completely unknown to them; it might be very rich, or it might be very poor. After being divided into five, no one knew how much they would get.

Moreover, since this cave abode was discovered by Old Daoist Li, according to the rules, he should take half of the treasures in the cave, and the most valuable treasure in the cave abode should also belong to him.

This means even less treasure will be left for the rest of the group, making it hard to say who will ultimately profit.

However, three Spirit-Gathering Pill were nothing to Long Xuan, who had a 100% success rate in alchemy. He wouldn't even care if he lost them, so he was naturally willing to accept the bet.

"Alright! I'll take your bet. But it's a deal: you can't hold me accountable later."

Long Xuan secretly took out three Spirit-Gathering Pill and readily handed them to him.

The Little Apothecary was overjoyed. He glanced around out of the corner of his eye and, finding no one paying attention, quietly collected the Spirit-Gathering Pill into his Storage Bag.

At the same time, he also gave Long Xuan a deep look, his eyes conveying an unreadable meaning.

Through several observations, he could tell that Long Xuan was a very suspicious person, extremely cautious in his actions, and meticulous in everything he did.

And yet he actually handed over the Spirit-Gathering Pill to me first, without any fear that I would deny taking the pill.

Such a person would never easily trust anyone. The fact that he did this only proves one thing: he is absolutely confident that he can beat himself, so he is not afraid of defaulting on his debt.

The Little Apothecary's pupils contracted, and he immediately felt apprehensive. He was certain that this person must have a very strong trump card, and more than one. This person was definitely not to be trifled with.

After resting, the five resumed their journey. However, to accommodate Old Daoist Li, they deliberately slowed their pace.

The location that Old Daoist Li mentioned was quite far away. Under his guidance, it took them more than twenty days to get there, and a round trip would take two months.

Long Xuan could only hope there were good things inside; otherwise, spending so much time and effort was simply not worth it. Wouldn't it be better to just stay home and sleep?

The cave abode mentioned by Old Daoist Li was located in an underground world, a magma-rich area. Magma was everywhere, with sparks flying out from it from time to time, radiating a scorching heat. Even the rocks here were black.

Old Daoist Li chuckled, "Hehe! It was all fortuitous opportunity. During the last Beast Tide, I was being chased by spirit beasts, and that's how I stumbled upon this place. I doubt any of you know where the cave abode is."

The Little Apothecary nodded and guessed, "This cave abode is located near the market, yet it has never been discovered in all these years. cave abode must be very well hidden."

"Lava is a place humans dare not venture into, so that cave abode must be hidden inside it, right? I can't find a more secluded location."

"Oh?" Old Daoist Li glanced at him in surprise and smiled, "You're quite clever. What you said is correct, but not entirely accurate."

"To be precise, the cave abode is located on a rock face on the opposite shore of the lava sea, with a winding path paved with stone pillars leading to the shore."

"But all the stone pillars were hidden by Illusion Formation and couldn't be seen at all. If I hadn't fallen into the lava while being chased by the spirit beast and found myself still alive, I would never have discovered this cave abode."

"The stone door to the cave abode was also hidden by Illusion Formation. Last time, I found all the stone pillars and then the stone door to that cave abode by throwing stones."

"However, considering that the cave abode's owner could set up such an exquisite Illusion Formation, the Killing Formation inside must be quite powerful."

"So I didn't dare go any deeper and retreated, planning to find some teammates to go in later. Although we'll get some treasures, it will be much safer."

"However, those stone pillars aren't connected in a straight line, and there are no reference points on the lava surface. I've forgotten where they are all; we'll probably have to search again."

Li Dashan then said, "Isn't this just testing the waters? It won't take much time. I'll feel my way."

Di Xin glanced at him and said, "Don't be impulsive. It's not as simple as you think."

"This looks a bit like an ancient formation. Haven't you ever wondered why the cave abode's owner made the stone path curved instead of a straight line?"

"The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. To make travel easier, he should have made his way home a straight line. Why go through all this trouble? Isn't he just making things difficult for himself?"

"This..." Upon hearing this, Old Daoist Li was stunned.

Indeed, why would the cave abode owner make the way home so winding and circuitous instead of a straight line? Doing so would only inconvenience him and waste his time.

He didn't think about the problem in detail at first; he just subconsciously thought that doing so would be more discreet.

But now that I think about it carefully, doing so is completely pointless and unnecessary.

I accidentally fell onto the first stone pillar, and then used it to test the way and find all the stone paths. It wasn't a good concealment at all; it didn't deter anyone from coming. It only made things difficult for me. Maybe one day I'll forget the way and fall down myself.

It's better to just draw a straight line.

Di Xin said very seriously, "This is an ancient formation. You were wrong just now. There isn't a single stone pillar forming a curve in the magma, but rather a cluster of stone pillars, possibly countless in number."

"Of all these stone pillars, only a very few are correct, and these pillars connect to form a route."

"The rest of the stone pillars are incorrect. Throwing stones at them won't cause any problems, but if a person steps on them, it will trigger a mechanism that causes the pillar to sink, or pose other dangers."

"You're incredibly lucky. You managed to perfectly avoid all the wrong options and figure out the right route with just one life. How did you do that?" Di Xin looked at him with a strange expression.

Upon hearing this, Old Daoist Li dropped open, and he broke out in a cold sweat. He was completely terrified and felt a lingering sense of fear.

How did he do it? He didn't know how he did it either. He just felt that he was incredibly lucky to be alive. It was such a close call that he was surprised that he could survive.

Long Xuan looked at him with a shocked expression, completely astonished.

What incredible luck! There's only one correct route through a cluster of stone pillars, so the probability of getting through is unimaginably low. How did he survive?

Is this Old Daoist Li also a chosen one? Is this some kind of story about an old man cultivating immortality?

Long Xuan was greatly shocked, and the way he looked at him changed completely.

"Can I fly there?"

At this moment, Long Xuan thought that he could step on his right foot with his left foot and fly directly over, but he didn't know if it was feasible.

Di Xin gave him another strange look, and flew over. Did he think he was an aerial acrobat? He even flew over there! Why didn't he just fly to the sky?

"If you don't want to be sucked into the lava, then fly away."

"Once you're here, you must follow the rules set by the cave abode's owner. Climbing ropes, jumping, or flying across on spirit beasts... none of that works."

"The cave abode owner had already thought of everything you could imagine. How could he have left such an obvious loophole?" Di Xin rolled his eyes at Long Xuan.

"Okay, then forget I said anything." Long Xuan gave an awkward laugh.

Of course, he was just saying it casually. He wouldn't be so reckless. Even if he flew over, he would definitely have his Flame Clone test it first to make sure he wasn't dead before flying over himself.

"So, the reason why Old Daoist Li found the stone gate to the cave abode last time was entirely due to incredible luck, and now he has forgotten the route, which means we have no other way?" Li Dashan said with a frown.

"Yes, there is. There's a line of people standing behind, and they take turns testing the route. If one dies, the person behind takes over, and they'll figure out the correct route very quickly," Di Xin said calmly.

Long Xuan was shocked. Wasn't this the Squid Game from his previous life? But there were only five of them in his group. These lives weren't enough to fill the gap. Even if he was the last one to leave, it would definitely be his turn eventually.

"Old Daoist Li, you're lucky, you go first!" Long Xuan said to the chosen one.

"I... no no no no!" Old Daoist Li shook his head violently, so frightened he could barely speak.

"You go first. I used up all my good luck last time, and even ended up with a negative balance on credit. I'm sure I'll make a mistake this time."

"No, you are the chosen one, so please go ahead. Elders come first; I have always had a tradition of respecting the elderly and caring for the young."

"No, no, no! You should go first..."

"At a time like this, you still have the leisure to joke around." Di Xin rolled his eyes at them, then said, "Actually, there's another way, which is for me to break this formation directly."

"However, I don't know if it will succeed. We can only give it a try for now. If it doesn't succeed, the two of you can go forward and explore."

Long Xuan nodded and said, "Then I'll trouble you. I'll go to the restroom first and be right back. You go ahead and do your work."

Di Xin scoffed, "It seems that important people have a lot of trouble when they go out. Hurry up and come back, don't fall into the lava. Once I open the cave abode, no one will be waiting for you."

"No need to wait for me, just take the treasures for me when it's time to distribute them." Long Xuan immediately ran off.

Turning left and right, Long Xuan ran to a very secluded corner. Looking back, he found that no one was following him, and his Eye of Heavenly Secrets did not see any tracking insects, so he released his Flame Clone.

He didn't come out to take a dump; according to the plan, he was supposed to switch places with a clone at the entrance of the cave abode to take his place.

No one can guarantee that the cave abode is 100% safe; anything could happen.

Moreover, he didn't trust Li Dashan, and Di Xin was no pushover either.

He felt it was too unsafe for him to enter the cave abode, so he simply had his Flame Clone go in for him while he stayed outside.

If something really happens, it will be Yan's Flame Clone that dies, and it will have nothing to do with me.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Long Xuan withdrew, intending to switch places with his clone and deceive everyone.

He hung his Storage Bag and Insect-Rearing Pouch on the waist of his Flame Clone. The clone could only copy the abilities of the Internal Gu but not the External Gu. This was also to ensure that the Flame Clone would have a fighting chance in case of internal strife.

Finally Long Xuan patted Flame Clone on the shoulder and instructed him, "I'm giving you a difficult task. You will now enter the cave abode to search for treasure in my place. Keep an eye on Li Dashan at all times. Your chance to make a contribution has come; don't let me down."

Flame Clone was always hardworking and conscientious. He had done this kind of tiring and dangerous work many times before and was already used to it. Without any objection, he walked away into the distance.

Good deeds are always done by the main body, while bad deeds are always done by the clone. What can he do with such an unscrupulous master?

After Flame Clone left, Long Xuan released Water Clone and Metal Clone. Wood Clone took care of the spirit medicine in Old Long's Medicine Garden, while Gui's clone stayed at home to look after his own Medicine Garden. After Flame Clone left, he only had two clones left that he could use.

Long Xuan hadn't expected there to be a lava zone near the market, which was exactly the terrain he had been searching for.

Over the years, he has been sending clones to various harsh environments to collect Supreme-grade Water Bear of all species. He has almost finished collecting them, and is only missing the Supreme-grade Water Bear that live in extremely hot areas and are good at resisting heat.

Now that he had finally found a magma environment, he took the opportunity to collect the last of these Water Bear.

After that, the matter of refining the Water Bear Gu can be put on the agenda. Long Xuan has been looking forward to the Water Bear Gu for a long time and is now impatient. He just needs to go back and refine the Gu immediately after this trip.